Born of Obsidian
by Orpheus Michael Kidwell
Summary: On his fourth birthday, awakening after the first 'Foxhunt', Naruto meets an Uzumaki in the Mask Temple. What will come of his decision to leave with her and can she truly protect him from all the threats to his life? Strong!Smart!Multiple Sub-elements!NarutoxFem!Haku. Elements/Characters from other manga. Many OC's. Starts pre-canon, many AU events.
1. Prologue

**Born of Obsidian**

**Heya all! I'm Orpheus Michael Kidwell and this is the reposting for Born of Obsidian. A lot of you have been wondering if I'll repost my stories and the answer is yes. I've already decided which ones I'll be reposting and I'm starting with only four of them so I can focus on a smaller amount and finish them quicker.**

**Those stories are Born of Obsidian, Shinton no Naruto, Seeing the Darkness and Of Snow and Whirlpools.**

**To those who have already read this on my last profile, just skip to Chapter VI.**

**Without further stalling, we begin!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any other elements that may appear. I only own my OC's, original jutsu, original clans, original bloodlines, etc. unless specifically specified as belonging to someone else.**

**Prologue**

**"Family means no one gets left behind or forgotten."**

**-David Ogden Stiers**

She could feel it. It was so hard not to, with her abilities that is. Just as her mother had the ability to sense negative emotions, she had been born with the same ability. It was obviously a residual effect of having a jinchuriki mother. Just as most of her abilities were a residual effect of either her mother or father. It was just how bloodlines worked.

It was those very same bloodlines which caused her siblings to be targeted. Those very same bloodlines which caused her mother's clan to be eradicated. Those very same bloodlines that made her father's clan arrogant in their power. It was her bloodlines which made her choose to leave Konoha for good after her mother's clan was killed, to join the Temple and to become the caretaker of it after everyone else died.

She could sense the very same bloodlines within his chakra. But... none of the arrogance? He felt... warm. Except for that small amount of darkness she could feel in his stomach, she recognized the chakra though. How could she not when she shared a small amount of that chakra herself? So... this was the boy. The boy which was her distant cousin on both sides of her family. The son of that princess who had been in Konoha and given her mother's burden simply because of her bloodline.

This... was Uzumaki Naruto.

She could see dirt caked in his spiky red hair... and blood. Someone had recently opened a wound on the left side of his head, a rock used as a projectile no doubt. His skin was tan, at least, where it wasn't bruised that is. His clothes were hard to describe, mostly because they were merely rags, torn rags that showed more bruises underneath. There were no scars though. She didn't think to find any with both the Uzumaki healing factor and having a biju who would no doubt speed up even that regenerative ability. His feet... not even any sandals to protect them from cold or the dangers that could litter the ground.

This was Uzumaki Naruto?

He was the son of the most loved kage and an Uzumaki princess. He shouldn't be treated like this. True... she was not one to think positively towards the powerful clans getting preferential treatment simply because of a bloodline and no hard work but this...

This was just sick. Abusing a helpless child because of a grudge towards one of the biju? The biju were mere constructs of chakra given consciousness. How could harming the warden do anything but increase the prisoner's chance of escape? Were the denizens of her former village truly this idiotic?

Apparently so. Why has her clan fallen to such treatment while the others... the Uchiha... those thieving bastards who use their accursed eyes to copy the skills of others without any regard for the work it took to gain those skills were treated so much better?

The woman sighed and knelt down beside the fallen boy and moved his hair from his face, tenderly stroking his cheek. "You don't deserve this treatment..." She whispered. As if her voice was some sort of medication, the four year old boy's eyes fluttered and opened, revealing azure orbs.

He slowly sat up as he held his cranium. "Ow... my aching head..." He muttered. "Where am I?" He asked. Though it was to himself, the woman answered.

"You are inside the Uzumaki Mask Temple outside Konohagakure no Sato." As her voice left her lips, Naruto turned to her and jumped back in fear.

"I'm sorry!" He immediately apologized, though for what was anyone's guess. "I... don't hurt me please!" He begged as he hit the wall and a few of the masks on walls idly swung. The woman smiled.

"I won't hurt you." She said soothingly as she slowly knelt beside the boy. "Why would I hurt my family?" Naruto's eyes widened as he looked at the woman.

"Wh-what?" He asked.

"My name is Uzumaki Boshihari, little Naru-chan." Boshihari explained with an affectionate smile. The woman was tall as other Uzumaki women with the blood-red hair common to her clan. Atop her head was a conical straw hat and her eyes were a violet, her left eye at least. The right one had a black bandage over it. As for her clothing, she was dressed in a crimson yukata with golden, Chinese-style dragons crawling beneath her golden obi, golden scroll patterns on the hem of the bottom and she also wore two bracelets made of prayer beads. The left hand had white beads and the right had black.

"H-how do you know my name?" Naruto asked cautiously.

Boshihari smiled. "The plants told me." She said with a smile as she touched a flower growing above the younger Uzumaki's head. "My father passed on his bloodline to me, but my mother's blood enhanced it. And Shokuton (Flora Release) isn't even my specialty. But... enough about that."

Naruto looked at the woman before him in curiosity. His intrigue left his paranoia momentarily forgotten "Your father?" He asked.

"Oh... you haven't started the Academy yet, have you? How silly of me!" Boshihari said with a soft smile. "My father was Senju Hashirama and my mother was Uzumaki Mito." Naruto's eyes widened at that information. Even his young mind knew that Hashirama was the Shodaime Hokage and one of the most powerful shinobi of all time.

"B-but..." Naruto paused. "You don't look old!" He exclaimed. And he was right. If Hashirama created Konoha one hundred years ago...

"Oh, thank you." Boshihari said with a grin. "That would be thanks to kaa-san. You see, we Uzumaki have a very extensive bloodline. One of the aspects of it is called the Seishun no Izumi (Fountain of Youth). Basically, for every five years after I turn fifteen I only age a single year. After I turn twenty-one, I only age one year for every ten. It's where the legendary Uzumaki longevity originated. So, while in reality I was born well over eighty years ago... well, I'm physically only twenty-four." Naruto looked at the woman in amazement.

"That's so cool!" He shouted. "Wait... does that mean... that I...?" Boshihari smiled and ruffled the young boy's hair, uncaring of its filth.

"Yes. You have inherited the Uzumaki Blood as well. I am also a sensor-type and from your chakra, I can tell you have unlocked it completely. I can also tell you have another bloodline... one I indeed share with you." Naruto looked at her patiently. "I see the natural ability you will have to unlock quite a few sub-elements. I can feel chakra affinities and know yours without even needing any chakra paper." Naruto's face split in a grin.

"R-really? I'll be able to learn awesome ninjutsu?"

Boshihari tapped her chin. "Well... I don't know about that." She said and Naruto's eyes fell.

"Oh... because I'm an idiot and no one would ever want me as a student, right?" He asked, dejected. Boshihari placed a hand on the boy's chin and tilted his head to look up until their eyes met.

"No... while you were unconscious and I was healing you... I put on a mask." Boshihari admitted, showing Naruto one of the many masks of the Temple. It looked like an owl's face. "The Athena mask grants the wearer the ability to see into someone's mindscape if physical contact is made with an unconscious body. I used it and I saw your memories... everything from when you were watched by ANBU as an infant up until today, when the matrons kicked you out of the orphanage and you were chased through Konoha as villagers threw things at you. I saw it all... how you lost them in the forest, but were still terrified and only got to this temple by pure adrenaline. When it ran out... you lost your ability to stay awake and that's when I found you. I healed you... and I want to ask you one, single question, Naru-chan."

The redhead looked up at his distant cousin and nodded, showing he was listening.

"I am leaving this village now that I've seen just how far my father's people have fallen. I exiled myself to this temple after my mother's clan and village was destroyed because of Tobirama-baka's neglect of saving them. Now that I see just what they will do to innocents... I am leaving the village for good. My only question is... would you like to accompany your only family on that journey instead of being hated and abused here?" She asked and Naruto's eyes watered.

Maybe it was the fact that as a child, he could tell she was sincere. Maybe it was because he was still traumatized from the hatred of the villagers and wanted to cling to someone kind. Maybe it was a mature decision made by a child who couldn't comprehend why he did it, but just knew by instinct it was the right thing to do. No one will ever know why Naruto said it, but it didn't change a single thing.

"Of course, Boshihari-nee-chan!"

**And that's a wrap!**

**I would like to thank SleepArypsure for the help she gave me on this as well as for providing me with the OC Senju-Uzumaki Boshihari.**

**Now, as for the format to send OC's.**

**Name: OC's name**

**Age: OC's age. Include a physical age if the OC looks older/younger than they are.**

**Moniker: A nickname that they are known for. i.e. Sharingan no Kakashi.**

**Clan Affiliation: Does the character belong to a clan? Canon or original?**

**Village Affiliation: What village do they work for? If they are a missing-nin, use (formerly)**

**Other Affiliations: Does the OC belong to another group? Puppet Corps, ROOT, ANBU, Medic nin, etc.**

**Status: Clan Head/heir/heiress, ninja rank, missing-nin**

**Elemental Affinities: Any and all affinities they are capable of using to any degree. Fire, Wind, Lightning, Earth, Water, Yin, Yang and any sub-elements.**

**Dojutsu: Do they have a dojutsu? If not canon, explain.**

**Physical Bloodline: Do they have a bloodline that is not dojutsu or a sub-element? Explain.**

**Contract(s): Any Summoning Contracts?**

**Taijutsu: Hand-to-hand combat. What is the rank of their skill (D, C, B, A, S). Small explanation of their style and skills in this area.**

**Genjutsu: Illusion Arts. What is the rank of their skill (D, C, B, A, S). Small explanation of their style and skills in this area.**

**Ninjutsu: Ninja arts that require handseals to perform and may be elemental in nature. What is the rank of their skill (D, C, B, A, S). Small explanation of their style and skills in this area.**

**Bukijutsu: Weapon Arts. What is the rank of their skill (D, C, B, A, S). Small explanation of their style and skills in this area.**

**Fuinjutsu: Sealing Arts. Level (1-10) of the OC's skill in Storage, Barrier, Medical, Space-Time and Battle Seals. Please be realistic.**

**Rank: D, C, B, A, S, SS, SSS-rank.**

**Wanted: Is there a bounty for your OC in any village? How much? What was the crime?**

**Physical Description: Give an accurate description of your character's appearance including eye color, hair color, hair style, clothing, skin tone and visible weapons/tools.**

**Personality: How does your OC normally act in every day situations? In extreme circumstances (such as a life-or-death situation).**

**Bio: Give your character some background. Be as short or long as you wish, just know that more detailed background's are best for characters who will be involved in the story on a regular basis.**

**Okay, that's the format to use. Also, if you'd like to see your OC with a canon character, please put that in the review/PM you used to send the character and if it is within reason I will do my best. Some characters have already had pairings decided and if you request someone who has been, I will be sure to send a PM to registered users or answer your review in the following chapter for guests.**

**Orpheus out! Ja ne!**


	2. Chapter I: Leaving the Temple

**Born of Obsidian**

**Chapter I: Leaving the Temple**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any other elements that may appear. All OC's, original jutsu, original clans, original villages, original bloodlines and other fanon elements are to be considered either SleepArypsure's or mine unless specifically stated.**

**"You can't blame someone for leaving if you never gave them a reason to stay."**

**-Unknown**

"What are you doing, Boshihari-nee-chan?" The redheaded woman smiled to the boy as she unrolled a scroll of her own making.

"Well, you see these masks hanging up on the walls?" She asked and the younger Uzumaki nodded. "Actually, they are artifacts of our family with unique abilities for the wearer. I am not about to leave any of these here for an enemy of ours to just take. So I am going to take them with us." Naruto nodded but then a look of curiosity entered his eyes. "What is it?"

Naruto hesitated slightly, afraid of looking stupid, but asked anyways. "Ano... if you want to put them up... why'd you take out a scroll?" He asked rather shyly. Boshihari looked at him strangely. He was already four.. he should know at least the basics of...

That's right! Konoha stunted the education he would've had with the clan. She would just have to fix that. "Well, it's quite simple, Naruto-chan." Boshihari said with a comforting smile and motioned him to approach the scroll. He did so.

"You see, ninja can use on of five branches of jutsu. Of course, taijutsu, genjutsu and ninjutsu are the most famous of them. A funny thing is... the last two were the specialty of our clan more than anything else. Bukijutsu is the art of weaponry and every Uzumaki can use at least one type of sword by the time they are genin and perhaps another weapon as well." Boshihari held out her hand and a long staff of oak appeared. "Personally, I prefer to use a staff of chakra wood I create myself and top it off with a blade..." as she spoke, a ninjato length blade of black material sprouted from the tip of the staff. "of Obsidian."

Naruto watched her in amazement. "That's... so cool!" He shouted. "Will I be able to do stuff like that?" He asked and Boshihari smiled, nodding once.

"I will train you to fully utilize all your abilities as we travel." Boshihari stated. "The other art which our clan was extremely proficient in using, and was in fact what we are most famous for, happens to be fuinjutsu." Naruto tilted his head.

"Art of... Sealing?" He asked. Boshihari nodded.

"Exactly. Seals are extremely useful, and extremely complex. There are actually five branches of the art. The hardest of them happens to be space-time seals, a branch which directly affects the target's position in space-time and can be anything from seals affecting gravity to teleportation of an object or person to another location. Others use the discipline for medical seals, a type of seal which accelerates the healing process of a target or can alternatively be used to harm a person from the inside.

"The third branch of fuinjutsu is barrier seals and is exactly how it sounds. By writing certain seals, you can literally create barriers to keep things out... or keep them in, a certain area. The fourth branch is one of the two most widely used disciplines of fuinjutsu, battle seals. These include everything having to do with tags and their varying effects, though the most common happens to be those of the exploding variety."

Naruto nodded but stopped. "What about the last one?" He asked.

"Right, the final branch is the one I am using now. It is the most extensive of all the arts of sealing... storage seals. With them, someone could contain everything from a simple kunai to... a demon." Boshihari said off-handedly, mostly to gauge Naruto's reaction to the last bit. When she saw there was none, she inwardly nodded. He didn't know of his burden quite yet. She would need to change that at some point, for sure.

"Wow... that's so cool. But... how does it work?" The curious boy asked as he tried to decipher the scroll's writings. Boshihari smiled.

"Well, look here. This here is the kanji for Storage, you see?" She pointed it out, to which he nodded. "And this one right here is the kanji for Solid, here is the one for Inanimate, and this one is the kanji for Object. There is also these lines called connectors between Solid, Inanimate and Object, and then a connector from the triangle that is formed from the first three and Storage."

"So... the first three are... connected?" Naruto asked and Boshihari nodded, motioning for him to go on. "That means they... are one?" She nodded again. "So... instead of three different words... they become a phrase?"

"Exactly!" Boshihari exclaimed. "They are now the phrase "Solid, Inanimate Objects" instead of three separate terms. And Storage is a one-word phrase, not a term... when put together, the two phrases depict the objective for which the seal was created. "The Storage of Solid, Inanimate Objects.""

"But... there are more kanji and connectors." Naruto noted.

"Perceptive. I only showed you a small part, the trigger seal. This small area of space triggers the rest of the matrix, or the writings of a seal that make it function. I won't go into the rest now, as we haven't the time, but I will be teaching you simpler storage seals than this one I made myself and we will work you up to more advanced seals of all five branches."

Naruto grinned. "Yeah! Awesome!" Boshihari smiled at his attitude but then turned her attention to the masks all over the room. There were 108 in total in the entire temple... each with a different set of abilities.

"Now... we'll be leaving after I get these masks stored in the scroll, alright?" The younger Uzumaki nodded his assent as Boshihari concentrated. Naruto could feel a strange pressure then... it seemed to center around Boshihari's right palm and it seemed to... tighten, was the only term he could find.

It became tighter and tighter until... it exploded. In awe, Naruto watched as a single chain extended from Boshihari's palm and then split into four, which split four more times, then twice, twice more and it split more and more until over one hundred chains were present.

Boshihari was sweating as she concentrated hard and each chain shot out and took hold of a single mask before placing them in certain areas on the scroll with different names for the masks and sealing them within. The chains retracted back into her and she sighed in relief, wiping the sweat from her brow and feeling a sense of accomplishment at Naruto's look of awe.

"Whoa..." he breathed out. "That was so cool..." Boshihari smirked and ruffled his hair.

"Glad you think so. That's an ability of the Uzumaki Clan's bloodline. Admittedly, I am not well-versed at using it, but I am still able to use it to some degree. I believe you will be able to use it to a far greater degree though." She said as she rolled up her scroll and strapped it to her back, walking out of the temple with her distant cousin following right behind her.

"Why is that, Boshihari-nee?" He asked.

"Because of your mother, of course." She said, and it had just the effect she was hoping.

"My... kaa-san? You knew my parents?" He nearly screamed. The redhead nodded as they reached the forest and she frowned, seeing the trees and calculated the fastest way to move.

"I knew of them. Here, get on my back." She told him as she crouched down and removed her scroll, sealing it in a tattoo on underneath the sleeve of her clothing. Naruto jumped up and wrapped his arms around her neck as she held his legs to keep him on.

"So... you didn't know them?" Boshihari shook her head once and channeled chakra to her legs, jumping up into a tree and began to dash through the treetops like any experienced ex-ANBU Commander of Konoha would be able to.

"I did know their reputations. Uzumaki Kushina was your mother... she was a SS-rank kunoichi and ANBU Commander during the Third Shinobi World War known for her barrier seals, her Suiton ninjutsu and her swordsmanship. She was most known though for her ability to use the Uzumaki Chakra Chains as if they were second nature to her. Because of this... she was feared around the entire Elemental Nations and her Bingo Book entry gave the warning that she was not to be approached by any group less than four full squads of one of the Five Great Nations' Black Ops. Ones specializing not in Capture and Tracking, but in Assassination and Infiltration, just to take her on in the hope of surviving." Naruto's eyes were wide in wonder.

"Wow..." he stated and rested him head on Boshihari's shoulder. "Kaa-san was totally awesome." At that point, the events of the boy's day seemed to catch up to him and his eyelids slowly drooped until they closed completely and his breathing evened out as he drifted off into unconsciousness.

Boshihari smiled as she moved him to her arms, holding him bridal style and close to her. "Yes... she was." Boshihari whispered.


	3. Chapter II: Training Pt I

**Born of Obsidian**

**Chapter II: Training Part I**

**Hey all, Orpheus and Sleep back with the next chapter. While there is not much to say, I do have this. I am deciding to implement a new date system this chapter in the style of Fairy Tail. For future reference, October 10, XX00 will be the date of the Kyubi attack and October 10, XX04 is the day Naruto left Konoha.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any other elements that may appear. All OC's, original jutsu, original clans, original villages, original bloodlines and other fanon elements are to be considered either SleepArypsure's or mine unless specifically stated.**

**"One doesn't become a soldier in a week; it takes training, study and discipline."**

**-Daniel Inouye**

**[October 13, XX04 – Rice Country]**

"Right here seems like a good enough place." Boshihari stated as Naruto walked beside her.

"For what, Hari-nee?" He asked as she formed an ox handseal. It was one of three he had memorized so far- the other two being ram and tiger- from one of Boshihari's lessons.

"To test your chakra." She stated. "You activated it two days ago. That was but the first step in the training our clan goes through. The second step is to test your chakra so that the correct training can be done from the earliest age possible. Uzumaki have an extremely high amount of potent chakra, meaning control must be gained at a very early age or it becomes exponentially harder to gain." As Boshihari's hands separated, a piece of paper lay in her hands, which she handed to Naruto. "This is a special kind of paper which when chakra is channeled in, shows the affinities of a person. First, it will show your basic affinities, and then your natural bloodline."

"Natural bloodline?" He asked.

"Yes... myself, I have a natural bloodline called Kokuyoton which allows me to create obsidian from my chakra with ease. However, along with that, comes a natural ability, though more chakra intensive than my Kokuyoton, to use Mokuton, Yoton and Futton. With training, I also have the ability to add my natural Yang chakra from the Uzumaki bloodline to my elements in order to use several other sub-elements. Though... I have yet to find a way to successfully combine all four of my elemental affinities at once. Now, while I am quite sure of what yours are thanks to my sensory abilities, I want to be absolutely positive and that is why we are using this chakra paper."

Naruto nodded and held the chakra paper in his thumb and forefinger, forcing chakra to travel from his stomach, up his tenketsu and to his fingertips until the paper reacted. First, one-third of the paper completely burned to ash, then another third completely turned to dust and the remainder literally became water. As they fell, the three elements mixed into one before hitting the ground and where the dust and water touched, wood formed. Where the dust and ash touched, lava formed before drying into igneous rocks. Where the water and ash touched, boiling mist formed. Finally, the places all three touched as one, shards of black obsidian formed and fell to the ground.

"Just as I thought." Boshihari said with a simple nod. "You too have the obsidian branch of the Haton (Glass Release) kekkai tota as I do. This means that we have much to practice. Ninjutsu will not be the only thing we must work on, however. We have taijutsu, bukijutsu, fuinjutsu and your other kekkai genkai to worry about as well." Naruto nodded, still looking at the pile of seven elements on the ground before him. "Naru-chan, come on. It looks like it's going to rain. I'll make us some shelter and we can begin a lesson on fuinjutsu." The boy looked up at her with a small smile and nodded his agreement as he followed the older redhead into a nearby forest before she used her Mokuton to create a log cabin and led him inside.

She sat on the floor in a lotus position, Naruto doing the same in front of her. "What are you going to teach me now?" He asked. Boshihari smiled to the younger boy and passed him a mask, one that looked like the owl mask she had showed him three days ago at the Temple... this one had the distinct difference of a bloodstained beak.

"That mask is called Minerva. It grants the wearer a temporary ability to retain everything they experience. However... you will only be able to wear it for four hours at a time before needing rest as it consumes chakra at a constant rate while you use it. We are going to use it during the next few days so that you can learn a skill absolutely vital in your training. I am going to teach you how to read and write."

**[December 6, XX04 – Earth Country]**

"Today will be your first lesson in chakra control." Boshihari said as she stood in front of a steep cliff face in Earth Country, Naruto right in front of her in his new outfit. He now wore a black haori with a blue line on each sleeve and hakama pants with the same design, as well as black sandals with a dark blue strap. "You will climb this rock... without your hands." The smaller redhead looked at her with a tilted head, wondering what she meant. Boshihari turned around and began walking up the cliff, surprising her charge.

"How did you do that?" He asked as she jumped back to the floor in front of him.

"It is quite simple, Naru-chan. By channeling chakra into your feet, you can cling to surfaces. Channel too little, and you'll fall. Channel too much and you'll be sent away in an explosion of energy. This will only be one of many chakra control techniques I will be teaching you since without proper control, you will waste enormous amounts of energy by using too much when fighting. As this is an exercise I cannot help you with, you may begin. We will remain here until you have completed this exercise to my satisfaction."

Naruto nodded once and wore an expression of concentration as he stepped forward. I've spent the last six weeks learning how to channel chakra to every inch of my body, this should be easy. He thought as he placed his right foot on the wall and felt it cling. Feeling brave, he placed the left one just above it and was glad the right one stuck. As he attempted to put chakra into his right, he suddenly fell to the floor, not a long fall but it was disheartening to the young boy. He stood up and heard Boshihari's voice.

"While I am glad you you did not run up like that Sarutobi-baka my uncle taught, I have to point out something. You must divert chakra at the correct pace, else you will fall when you transition feet." The small redhead looked at his cousin.

"Why shouldn't I have run up?" He asked.

"Because, running up teaches you nothing. It is a fool's shortcut that Tobirama used in training to speed up the process of chakra control. Unfortunately for him, he was not a sensor like you or me. Though the waste of chakra is small, it is there if you learn to cling to surfaces by running and adds up to a large amount after some time. You must first learn to walk before you can run." Naruto nodded.

"I understand, Hari-nee." He replied and went to try again.

Despite the number of times he fell or was thrown off, Boshihari smiled with pride. Not just at how much farther he got each time, but each time she gave him advice, he took it. And his speech... she had been giving him lessons on the right way to speak in different situations and on expanding his vocabulary. It was a lesson her kaa-san had given her as well.

While ninja were assassins and bountymen, escorts and protectors, warriors and medics, they had more missions that battle. Some missions were diplomatic in nature and she would not have the only family she had found so far be unable to do anything he might need. After all, a kind word and a kunai will get you further than a kind word, but sometimes the right words can make the kunai needless in a situation.

Hell, sometimes the right words can turn a potentially deadly enemy into one of your fiercest allies. Her father had believed the same thing and it had been the reason for Konoha's creation. Truth be told... the Uchiha Main Family from that generation were rather nice people. Madara and his brother Izuna, Izuna's daughter and Madara's son and of course both of their wives. It was too bad that the whole family was banished from the clan after Madara's defection and Izuna's disappearance.

To this day, Boshihari still wondered if Kenichi and Tsuki were alive. She knew their mothers were long dead, by about forty years, but there were never reports of those two cousins after the Second Shinobi World War.

"Hari-nee! I did it!" Boshihari cut her train of thought and looked up, seeing Naruto at the top of the fifty foot cliff and smiled. The sun showed it had been only two hours. That wasn't bad. Now... well, now he would just have to master it on his own as they traveled since tree hopping would probably be a normal occurrence from here on.

Well... after they got out of Tsuchi no Kuni that is.

**[December 20, XX04 – Honey Country]**

"Today's lesson is regarding nature, or more specific, natures." Boshihari stated as the two stood in a field of flowers, bees buzzing in the background as they pollinated flowers. Despite the multitude of hives in this particular clearing, neither Uzumaki held any fear. The first reason was that Boshihari had never given Naruto a reason to fear the insects. The second was that even if one had been stung, the natural Uzumaki healing factor - and each one's strengthened healing factor from demonic influences - would easily take care of the poison.

"What's the difference?" Naruto asked curiously.

"It is really quite simple, Naru-chan." Boshihari replied. "Nature speaks of one's surroundings when not in a place of humans, whereas natures speak of..." Boshihari formed a simple ram seal and and by sheer willpower and manipulation an pillar of stone rose up in front of her to her waist and a double helix of water and fire formed around it, "the elements which a person's chakra may become."

"Awesome." Naruto said with a grin before noting Boshihari's look. "Um... I mean... sounds exciting." She nodded and released the ram seal, though the pillar, water and fire stayed in place, the water and fire simply rising up and mixing on the pedestal of the pillar causing it to form an orb of obsidian as fire made the earth turn molten and water quickly cooled it.

"It is exciting. Elemental natures are the foundation of a ninjutsu specialist and most ninja are not considered skilled without at least one of each affinity under their belt, unless their tai, gen, buki or fuinjutsu is high enough. You will be skilled in all the areas. However, I am yet able to teach you taijutsu or much bukijutsu because of your stature, Naru-chan."

The revelation that he was too short to learn hurt Naruto's pride... but he quickly got over it. "So... what am I learning then?" Boshihari grinned, despite herself, and reached into her robe to pull out a special scroll with the Uzumaki spiral on each tip. "This is a scroll of C-rank water ninjutsu, written by own mother. On it are three ninjutsu which you will be learning. One was created by Uzumaki Tsunami, my aunt and kaa-san's twin, one was made by kaa-san herself and the final was created by my uncle, Tobirama. You could say... it's your birthright."

Naruto frowned. "But... I'm not related to the Nidaime Hokage... am I?" He asked. Boshihari felt no small sense of satisfaction that her history lessons were getting through to him. "Unless... you still haven't told me about my father's family, just that he was an orphan and that his name was Namikaze Minato, whoever that is."

Boshihari couldn't help but give a small smile that he wasn't even aware of that side of his heritage, the Namikaze- or should she say Senju? - clan. "Well, your father, as it happens, was my third cousin. His mother was my second and his father was a Namikaze from Kumogakure. Both died during the Second Shinobi World War like most of my clan, and a squad of my uncle's personal ANBU, a division he called ROOT, found your father who was birthed on the battlefield. Namikaze Senko died trying to protect Senju Yami and Yami died giving birth, both only living long enough to give Minato a name and tell the ROOT who found them to protect him." Naruto's eyes were wide.

"Who found him?" Naruto asked.

"A student of my uncle... a man who was just as much a warhawk as my father's brother... Shimura Danzo. He brought Minato back but dropped him off at the Konohagakure orphanage, only leaving a letter with your father's name on it. He grew up the whole time unaware of his true heritage." Naruto's face was scrunched in thought before he suddenly looked at Boshihari.

"Was... Tobirama my ancestor?" He asked and Boshihari nodded with a smile, glad the young boy had figured it out so fast. "Wow..."

"Quite." Boshihari commented. "You are the heir to the Nidaime Hokage just as much as you are to the Yondaime." Naruto looked at Boshihari strangely. "Oh... did I forget to mention that? Minato grew to be named the Yondaime Hokage after his role in the Third Shinobi World War as the Kiroi Senko."

"And... you're heir to the Shodaime Hokage." Naruto said. "Who was the Sandaime?" Boshihari smiled.

"That's a lesson for another day, for now, let's get started on your nature training." The Uzumaki woman held a ram seal and water formed from the air into a ball four feet in radius just eighteen inches from Naruto. "You'll use this water to train today. We'll continue moving as we have been even if you don't master the ninjutsu in one day, which I'm nearly sure is quite impossible due to your inexperience but you could surprise me, and you can practice more each day. Now, go ahead and get started."

Naruto nodded once and took the scroll Boshihari handed him, biting his thumb and opening the blood seal on it. He knew there would be one since it was a clan scroll and Boshihari's fuinjutsu lesson a few weeks ago had stated that most clans put blood seals on their clan scrolls. Opening it, he eyed the techniques.

_Water Style: Water Clone Jutsu – The user creates a construct of water which is a clone of themselves made entirely out of water which has exactly one-tenth their strength. In order to do this correctly, the user need only have enough chakra control cling to surfaces but must have enough control of shape and nature manipulation to shape water into a stable sphere. If the clone travels too far from the user, it will destabilize and the same shall happen if it is damaged. Handseals: Tiger_

_Water Style: Gunshot – The user creates a pressurized bullet of water in their stomach and fires it at a target from their mouth. Handseals: Tiger_

_Water Style: Water Trumpet Jutsu – The user forms a circle with their thumb and forefinger and places it in front of their mouth, using it to aim the water they shoot from their mouth. Handseals: Dragon-Tiger-Hare. Short Chain: Tiger._

Naruto smirked after he read the descriptions of each and saw diagrams of how to perform each and looked up at Boshihari. "I won't fail you, Hari-nee!" He announced. "I'll definitely master these!"

Boshihari smiled and ruffled his spiky hair. "Oh, I'm sure you will. I believe in you, Naru-chan."

**[January 10 XX05, Hot Spring Country]**

"You want me to... do what now?" Naruto asked Boshihari with a slightly nervous look as he stared at the steaming water in front of him. Boshihari sighed.

"It's simple. I want you to stand on top of the water. It's just a higher level version of the rock and tree walking exercises. It is an essential skill for any and all ninja." Naruto swallowed and nodded. "Besides, if you use water-natured chakra, it is much easier to do. Your water affinity being affected by both Uzumaki and Tobirama's DNA makes your water chakra that much stronger so..."

"Y-yeah... I guess you're right." He replied and tentatively placed a foot on the water, surprised he felt nothing when he coated his sole in water chakra. "What...?"

"This is a lesson within a lesson." Boshihari said. "Chakra is not just used to cling, it can also repel at the same time. In fact... using the same natured chakra as an element touching you will simply add to the chakra you use, making fire chakra an excellent armor against Uchiha and water chakra an excellent armor against Uzumaki, Senju and Hozuki."

"Armor?" Naruto asked as he focused completely on staying atop the water, whenever he felt himself falling, he subconsciously did something Boshihari practically grinned at.

"Such as the Water Armor you just used." Naruto looked at his body and saw that up to his waist – which is where the he sunk to – was covered in a darker blue water than the rest of the onsen. "The threat of being burned coupled with your experience in chakra flow and nature manipulation allowed you to accidentally learn how to perform one of the Uzumaki's most secret ninjutsu, something I was hoping you would get in this lesson. The Water Armor you just used will keep higher and lower temperatured water from touching you, absorbs water-natured ninjutsu, softens physical blows and makes an excellent deterrent to fire ninjutsu. Just be warned that lightning ninjutsu will be more effective against you while using it."

Naruto was extremely impressed by this knowledge, so much that he lost focus and suddenly felt very hot, jumping out of the water as he was burned by the water and running around, trying to cool himself off. "Hot! Hot! Hot!"

Boshihari giggled. "Oh, Naru-chan. You never cease to amaze me."

[February 4, XX05, Flower Country]

"The rose is a wonderful species of flora, Naru-chan." Boshihari stated as she picked one up and held it under her nose, inhaling the scent. "Beautiful, graceful and able to come in many colors, but most are like this one here, a deep blood-red. They mirror the Uzumaki women so nicely, especially given the nature of their stems. Pick up a rose correctly and it will not harm you, allowing you to bask in its beauty and grace. However... do something wrong... and suffer the wrath of its thorns."

Naruto nodded in understanding. "So... our clan's women can be both sweet and..."

"Violent, very violent. Especially if their family is harmed." Boshihari said simply. "Now, here is an Uzumaki clan way of training speed and grace in preparation for your first weapon."

"Wait... but what about my Onkei no Mai (Dance of Grace)?" Naruto asked, alluding to one of the aspects of the Uzumaki Clan's physical bloodline.

Boshihari nodded. "Yes, the Onkei no Mai will aid you greatly. Please, show me the result of your lessons, what can it do."

"Um..." Naruto held a look of thoughtfulness. "Well... it's active from birth, unlike the Seishun no Izumi, for one. I think the way you explained it was... it keeps our clan's muscles lean and prevents them from becoming bulky and also increases our speed and strength by using our massive amounts of Yang chakra."

"Almost. It uses the Nidaikaze (Second Wind) of our biology. Do you remember what that is?" Naruto thought for a moment before nodding.

"Right, it's a second pool of chakra that our clan has, but it only holds Yang chakra instead of regular chakra and is just as accessible to us as our regular chakra, meaning all Uzumaki are able to mix Yang with our basic elements with barely any training."

"Correct, Naru-chan." Boshihari said with a smile. "But, just like normal chakra, a certain amount of our second pool automatically is channeled by our bodies through our tenketsu for normal body functions, it is for this reason that our clan has massive endurance compared to others, even to the Senju clan."

"So... what is this exercise?" Naruto asked as he looked at the rose in Boshihari's hand once more.

"It is simple. First... we shall train your speed and reflexes using nothing but a simple rose..." She threw it up and a dozen petals fell from it, and in the blink of Naruto's eyes, all of them were in Boshihari's right hand while she had caught the rose perfectly in her left. "You will not be attempting so many at once... three will do for now." She placed her right hand over the rose's flower and removed it, all of the petals were once more on it.

Naruto accepted the rose from her. "Alright, Hari-nee." Throwing it up, several petals fell off and he caught four in one hand, but when he tried to catch the rose it dropped to the floor as the thorns stabbed his hand. He quickly sucked on his forefinger which was bleeding.

"Oh... and also, you need to catch the rose right. Remember what I said at the beginning of the lesson. Always remember the words of those you interact with, it just might shed some light on later events." Naruto nodded once and carefully picked up the rose once more.

"Got it." He said seriously. "I'll get it done!"

[May 27, XX05, River Country]

"Today shall be your first field exam to make sure your training is coming together." Boshihari stated as both of the Uzumaki stood atop part of a river which had a slow current. "So far, you have learned much in these seven and a half months."

"Hai, Hari-nee." Naruto nodded once. "What do I need to do?"

"First, we shall test your chakra control, water manipulation, speed and reflexes at once to see what I am able to teach you next." Naruto looked at her in suspicion, reading in between the lines.

"You mean... target practice." He said. It wasn't the first time she would have done so. At Boshihari's smirk, he knew he had guessed right. She held out her hand some of the river's water formed a sphere just beside her and three trickles came from it before being changed into senbon of pure water in her hand.

"Precisely." As soon as she threw them, Naruto formed a Tiger seal.

**"Water Style: Gunshot!" **He spat out a ball of condensed water which absorbed the water needles before jumping back using chakra to augment the strength of his legs and water chakra to repel the water from his feet, further aiding the distance he could jump. As he landed, water armor covered his feet all the way up to his ankles.

"Ah, using all your skills. Very good Naru-chan." Boshihari complimented as she allowed the water sphere to become bigger by adding more water and formed two Fuma Shuriken and threw them at him. Naruto's eyes widened, but he quickly used another of the ninjutsu he knew.

**"Water Style: Water Clone Jutsu!"** Three doppelgangers appeared and all three quickly formed identical handseals while Naruto made another tiger handseal.

**"Water Style: Gunshot!" **The original spat another bullet of water while the others finished their chain of Dragon-Tiger-Hare. **"Water Style: Water Trumpet Jutsu!" **The three streams fed the bullet and rapidly increased its size. **"Collaboration Jutsu: Water Bullet Expansion Jutsu!"**

The bullet became extremely large and the clones dispelled from using all their chakra. The two shuriken crashed into the bullet then and the three constructs of water destabilized, splashing water everywhere. "Hm... efficient. By creating three clones with ten percent of your chakra each instead of attempting to increase the size of the bullet before shooting it saved you chakra cost. And it was just enough to cancel my attack. Let's try something else. Time for some battle fuinjutsu."

Reaching into her robe, Boshihari took out several pre-made kunai of obsidian and threw them at Naruto, who understood what she wanted. Quickly he formed a ram seal to concentrate his chakra manipulation and water rose up to create a seal midair. It was a seal formed with the kanji for Storage connected to Solid, Object, Inanimate and Obsidian. The kunai would fly into the seal and disappear into a pocket dimension only another Uzumaki could access.

And just as it was planned, it happened. Boshihari nodded at Naruto's quick use of simple water manipulation exercises and a mere Level 2 Storage Seal. "Impressive speed. I have seen all that I need to. Your next lessons shall be easy enough for me to plan. We are finished for the day and you may spend the rest of the day however you wish."

**Well, that's about it for now.**

**We have some pretty big plans for Naruto as far as pre-canon events go, so don't worry. There will be one more training chapter up next and then I'll begin the first actual arc for you all. It involves Otogakure, but that's all I'm saying on the subject.**

**Naruto's skills: Though he looks strong, think about this. He's got a sensei who literally knows exactly the right way to teach him since she shares affinities and clans with him. And also, while he does have some long-range skills, he's pretty much useless right now in an actual fight due to A) zero experience and B) no taijutsu/bukijutsu skills so if someone were to get around his C-rank ninjutsu skills (admittedly, not hard for a decently skilled ninja or samurai) then he's going to lose immediately.**

**Uzumaki Bloodline: While I have revealed two more aspects of the Uzumaki physical bloodline, there is a few more parts to it which should hopefully all be revealed by canon.**

**Naruto's Heritage: Yes, Naruto is related to Tobirama in this fic. That will be very important down the road, trust me.**

**Sub-elements: While Naruto will have Lava, Boil, Wood and Obsidian, his Yang affinity will allow for some other as well, though I won't say which ones.**

**Pairing: NarutoxFem!Haku. No double pairings, no harems, no other girls but Haku.**

**With nothing left to say...**

**Orpheus out! Ja ne!**


	4. Chapter III: Training Pt II

**Born of Obsidian**

**Chapter III: Training Part II**

**Quote of the Day: "Achievement is talent plus preparation."**

**-Malcolm Gladwell, Outliers: The Story of Success**

"This is where we see how you're training has gone." Boshihari said as she stood on the side of a cliff with Naruto in front of her. The cliff was actually the side of a volcano and extremely hot whereas at the bottom if one fell was a hot spring.

"Hai, Boshihari-sensei." Naruto spoke calmly. He was seven now and three years her student. His tone sounded respectful as he looked on at the woman before him.

"Remember your training in this test. It will help. That and your three gifts as well. The mask, ring and swords are up to you how to use."

Naruto nodded and breathed in slowly as he looked down at his right index finger. There sat one of three gifts his last three birthdays granted him. His last birthday he was gifted a sword with a special ability, a zanpakuto of the Uzumaki Clan. Before that he got one of the masks to keep. But on his first birthday with Boshihari, Naruto got his ring... it was deep black with glowing blue seals etched on the inside.

**[Flashback Begin]**

"What are we doing today, Hari-nee?" Naruto asked curiously as they had set up camp very early. It was barely noon and Boshihari had them atop a hill and already inside the wooden cabin she always made for them.

He couldn't wait to learn Wood Release... or any sub-element for that matter. He was progressing well in his basic elements, or so Boshihari said. Still, the aspect of two elements making something new was really amazing.

"Do you know what today is?" She asked and Naruto tapped his chin in thought like he saw her sometimes do.

"Um... October the 10th?" He asked and she nodded. "So?"

"It is the anniversary of some significant events in your life. Your birth, the death of your parents, the Fox Hunt and our first meeting." She was blunt and to the point which was rare for the former monk, as far as the younger redhead had seen.

"I guess you're right. But my life in Konohagakure no Sato is finished, so why bring it up?" Naruto asked, still confused.

"Today is your birthday, Naruto-chan." Boshihari said. When he tilted his head in curiosity she sighed. "Right... you have never had one."

"A what?" Naruto asked and Boshihari knelt in front of him, smiling. "Hari-nee?"

"Today is special, Naru-chan. Today is all about you, the day you came in to this world. It is a special day that I want to celebrate because you are special to me. Do you understand?"

The five year old was still confused but smiled to the older redhead who had been taking care of and teaching him. He gave her a hug and she smiled, wrapping her own arms around him as well.

When they separated, Boshihari reached into her robe and pulled out a small, black ring box and handed it to Naruto who looked at her curiously with those big purple eyes.

"Um..."

"Open it. It's your birthday present."

"Pre...sent?"

"A... gift. On your birthday people give you a gift to show how much you mean to them."

Naruto nodded and looked at the box with a smile. He opened it and inside was a simple black ring that was glossy and polished.

Boshihari became worried as she saw Naruto's eyes become teary. "Do you not like it?" She asked and the five year old looked up at her, shaking his head.

"No one ever got me anything... I l-love it!" He shot forward and wrapped his arms around the cycloptic ex-monk who was at first surprised but smiled softly, finally returning the embrace.

"It's more than a ring, Naru-chan. It's an Uzumaki artifact of the Royal Family... your mother's family. It was worn by the Clan Head and made them strong, very strong.

"The Uzumaki have always been a clan of heavy ninjutsu users because of our immense chakra reserves. Our only issue was chakra control, something that we all have to constantly practice. That ring there is one of only two in existence, the other which is in my pocket dimension but is also yours."

"Also mine?"

"The rings are worn by the clan heads. Man and wife share the status and pass both to the eldest born and their spouse only upon death. When you reach the age where your Fountain of Youth activates, I will grant you your spouse's ring unless you find someone before then."

"What do the rings do?"

"Chakra control augmentation. Yin and Yang are twenty times easier to control. Non-elemental chakra is ten times easier to control. Basic elements are five times, Two nature sub-elements are three, three nature sub-elements are two, four nature are 1.5 and anything else is undocumented."

Naruto's eyes widened. "Wow... is that why you had me start Fire, Earth and Water training already?" Boshihari nodded.

"You are not allowed to wear it when starting training on a new element or jutsu. It would act as a crutch and thus weaken you. Can you promise me that?"

"I promise, Hari-nee!" Naruto said as he put the ring on. "And like you said, an Uzumaki never breaks a promise!" Boshihari smiled softly at that.

"That is good you remembered, now why don't we have some ramen...?"

**[Flashback End]**

Naruto formed his right hand into a fist and nodded to himself. He would make her proud of him.

Boshihari smiled as she saw Naruto gathering his focus. He was really becoming something great. She was very impressed by progress in three and a half years. What surprised her more though...

**[Flashback Begin]**

"Wow... this place is amazing."

"This is the Ancient Uzumaki Underground Complex." Boshihari said. They were in but one of many, many rooms underground, or at least what appeared underground.

This specific chamber was covered in seals and had a single pedestal in the center of it. "What is this room for?"

"This is the Uzumaki Affinity Testing room. It shows a complete analysis of all your affinities and the highest level sub-element you can use."

"How does it work?" Naruto asked curiously.

"The sealing array acts as a mirror of your chakra. Every person's chakra can be divided into seven categories. The first five are the elemental natures: Fire, Wind, Lightning, Earth and Water. Non-elemental chakra is made of two components: the spiritual energy of Yin and the physical energy of Yang.

"When a person steps on the pedestal there, the seven circles around it with the kanji for each of the elements will light up a pillar of a certain color if you are aligned to it.

"Fire creates a pillar of crimson; Wind creates a pillar of silver; Lightning creates a pillar of gold; Earth creates a pillar of amber; Water creates a pillar of azure; Yin creates a pillar of pitch black and Yang creates a pillar of snow white."

"Um... Hari-nee... what did yours make?"

"I'll show you." She said and took a few steps until she stood on the pedestal. Naruto watched the pillars as the kanji for Fire, Earth, Water and Yang lit before a pillar of crimson, amber, azure and snow white rose up.

What was truly amazing is that they began to twist and interweave before at the very peak they connected and an obsidian pyramid formed with something white flowing around it in a vortex.

"My elements are Fire, Earth, Water and Yang. My natural bloodline is the Obsidian branch of Glass Release and I have the ability to use the Paper Release if I use all of my elements, but I haven't trained in that."

"Thats why the pyramid was there." Naruto said. "Okay... I want to try." Boshihari smiled and stepped down as Naruto stepped up.

Immediately her eyes widened as five pillars rose. Crimson, amber, azure, pitch black and snow white...

[Flashback End]

It had been truly amazing to learn. Sure, she had the potential for a four-nature kekkai seigyo but a kekkai shijo? The documented cases from all eras were less than twenty. After a millenia, only eighteen individuals had one... now nineteen.

She didn't know his potential shijo at this point. The flaw in the Uzumaki Affinity seal is that the seal could only show the potential sub-element of previously documented sub-elements. His specific Shijo was undocumented so... he would need training in mixing elemental chakra.

That was why she already trained him a little in four and he even figured out how to access one she couldn't because of his Yin chakra.

"Naruto-chan, are you prepared?" The smaller redhead nodded his head.

"Hai."

Boshihari created a single kunai of obsidian. "When this hits the hot spring, begin. Come at me with intent to kill, Naruto-chan. Understand?" He nodded and Boshihari dropped it.

The next second while it dropped seemed to slow down to Naruto. He didn't watch it drop but instead channeled Yang chakra to his ears, enhancing his hearing.

His hands were kept at his side, twitching in anticipation as he awaited gravity to do its work. Even as it fell, he began to think what moves he could use. He needed to do something to win this... Boshihari was taller, stronger, faster and more experienced. He couldn't win but... maybe he could at least score one hit.

Splash!

That's all the warning he needed. Naruto had immediately jumped backwards and began a set of handseals even as Boshihari created two glass clones without seals.

One formed an obsidian naginata in her hands while the other inhaled before shooting black needles of obsidian at the location Naruto was formerly at.

**"Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Flower Jutsu!" **Naruto held his thumb and forefinger in a circle in front of his mouth and blew several fireballs out. The clone without the naginata simply held a ram seal and a wall of water shot up from the hot spring to block it before forming into a dragon and launching itself at Naruto.

The redhead saw it coming and caused the moisture in the air to become water and form into a midair sealing matrix. "Uzumaki Sealing Art: Water Sealing Jutsu!" The dragon disappeared inside the seal and then the water itself reformed another shape.

**"Water Style: Water Shuriken Jutsu!"** The tendrils that formed the seal turned into a dozen shuriken of water that suddenly shot forward at the clones.

The naginata-wielding clone jumped in front of the other and began to deflect them from damaging either of them.

This gave Naruto just the break he needed as he reached into his robe and pulled out a mask. It was a fox's face mostly blue with touches of red over it. He placed it over his face and time slowed as a memory of his training resurfaced.

**[Flashback Begin]**

"There are two types of masks from our clan, Naruto-chan. Of the 108 masks, 54 are inspired by either divine or demonic influences while the other half are inspired by human or natural influences.

"The 'Supernatural' set have three abilities apiece, the first accessible to anyone wearing the mask and the other two are only activated with mastery of the first skill.

"The 'Worldly' set have more abilities but are weaker and require the mask to tell you the incantation for each ability."

"Like the clan swords?'

"Like the zanpakuto, yes. Many Uzumaki actually used both their mask and zanpakuto in conjunction to create devastating styles that allowed our clan to be on the same level as the Senju and Uchiha, nay... on higher levels."

"So which one is the fox mask you gave me?"

"Yoko is a Supernatural mask so it's first ability is accessible at all times. You must master its first skill before you obtain the other two."

[Flashback End]

He placed Yoko on his face and felt the mask's power... he took hold of that power and used it as he had before. Though it was a Supernatural mask until he had the ability mastered, he would need to still use the abilities name to trigger it.

"Yoko Mask: Tails of the Beast!" He announced and suddenly felt the telltale tingling at the base of his spine as not one, but two fox tails materialized behind him under his control.

He could materialize up to nine of them, but he only had perfect control of two at this point. That's what he needed right now, perfect control.

"Getting serious, Naruto-chan?" One of the clones asked and Naruto smirked behind his mask, causing the mask itself to smirk. The fox's mouth moving was quite a sight to anyone not accustomed to the Uzumaki masks.

Two seals appeared above the tails and two weapons fell, a naginata and a ninjato, each caught by one of the tails. The now fox-faced Naruto fell to all fours on the rocky cliff face as the stone crept up his fingers to form claws before he dashed forward like a fox.

The original Boshihari stood in the exact same location as she examined the boy fighting. The mask heavily influenced his style once he put it on.

Was it because of the Kyubi? Should she have told him already? No... it was best to keep him innocent of that weight for a while longer. She didn't want his still child-like innocence to disappear...

She hadn't even given him his first kill yet. She was being a baka about it all and Boshihari knew it. He was her only family left besides her niece Tsunade but Boshihari didn't even consider herself a Senju. The Slug Sannin and her had always been at ends because of that.

Looking at Naruto again she noted that he was holding off her naginata-wielding clone with both blades in his tails as he was attempting to use jumping claw strikes on her ninjutsu clone. While they missed, it kept the clone unable to cast any jutsu.

_Use that jutsu Naru-chan..._ She thought to herself and as if he heard, Naruto dive-rolled away from both and looked at the two, a feral look in his mask's eyes as he readied himself and dashed forward before jumping and spinning in midair, tails pointing the blades in front of him.

**"Fire Style..."** He whispered as from front to back the twister he created by spinning ignited. **"Vortex Fang!"** In the style of the famed Inuzuka clan, Naruto formed a flaming cyclone of stone claws and steel blades as he shattered her ninjutsu clone and tore through the naginata-wielding clone's defenses, shattering her as well.

He landed on all fours, tails splayed out so one was on either side of him. He looked at Boshihari who merely held a mysterious smile and a twinkle in her lone eye.

"You can take on my clones... but what about me?" Without even a seal, a staff of oak rose from the stone wall and she twirled it for emphasis and show.

Naruto looked at the woman. A daughter of the strongest Senju and Uzumaki seen in centuries, a mistress of over a dozen elemental natures, a former monk who trained in bojutsu with the best and could beat anyone in a straight bukijutsu fight even with just a single eye. She was undoubtedly one of the strongest shinobi alive and definitely the strongest kunoichi living.

"I won't go down without a fight!" He shouted and dashed forward, jumping high and spinning in a flipping motion as the blades were out creating a vortex of steel.

Boshihari saw it coming and held her hand up, palm towards Naruto as a large, flat shield of oak appeared above her which the steel blades became stuck in. Balancing on his tails, still gripping the two blades, Naruto gripped them tighter and inhaled as he made handseals.

The mask's mouth opened to reveal what a zoologist would recognize as a fox's mouth as he spoke the jutsu's name from behind it. **"Glass Release: Obsidian Shard Rain Jutsu!"** Small pieces of the sharpest material in existence shot forward and embedded into the wood, pushing it down as his tails pulled to allow him to free his weapons and backflip off the Mokuton construct.

"Why not try again?" Boshihari asked sweetly and Naruto had to strain to pull his anger in. Emotion clouded thought and focus in battle. He needed utter calm against this much tougher opponent.

The time he took to calm himself was a mistake as Boshihari performed her first offense and rushed forward at him, naginata forward and threatening to stab him.

Naruto's eyes widened and his tails came down causing his blades to form an X and barely make the opposing naginata slide above his hair instead of killing him.

He instantly jumped back as he felt the connection with his mask straining. _No! Not now of all times!_

Suddenly, his tails began to disappear with barely enough time for him to reseal the blades back before the mask dropped into his hands. He put it in his robe and inwardly cursed.

He wasn't nearly as good with it as he'd like. The Supernatural masks always had either a chakra cost or a timeout function. If one wore a mask and mastered it, the timeout would become nearly non-existent, but he had so little time with Yoko.

He knew it was needed to use the mask to take out the clones but now he would have to wait for it to recharge its energy.

"Pay attention!" Boshihari shouted as several fuma shuriken of hot spring water shot at him and he ran up the slope to dodge them. Boshihari gave chase and Naruto had to draw a katana from a seal to parry her strikes. One of his personal zanpakuto.

**[Flashback Begin]**

"Today you turn seven. This is a milestone in all Uzumaki's life as it is time for you to obtain your personal zanpakuto. Explain what a zanpakuto is."

Naruto nodded. "Uzumaki have very potent chakra, so potent it can actually take physical form if the Divine Wrath aspect of our bloodline is present in someone. It is the same aspect which allows chains to be made but either on our seventh birthday if it is forced or on our tenth on its own, a zanpakuto - also called a soul slayer or a spirit weapon by some - is formed and is a legacy that actually outlives the creator of it as it is a construct of Yang chakra and our lifeforce. Each zanpakuto has a base form - usually a katana - and two other forms. The Shikai, or Initial Release, grants the user a set of related abilities and a new form to the weapon as well as an increase in chakra, speed, strength and other physical aspects. Bankai, or Final Release, is a step above even Shikai and allows the user even greater boost, another weapon form and even greater abilities."

"Good. Now, we are going to Force you today. The process is simple. Nothing more than having you channel your Yang chakra into this here bar of metal. It is special and not normal chakra steel. Instead it is a metal found only in vast quantities in Uzu no Kuni. Osmium is the name of the metal and it is denser and heavier than steel, but also a greater defense. Augmenting your strength with Yang chakra will allow an easier time lifting it though."

"Hai." Naruto said as Boshihari placed it on the ground and Naruto kneeled, putting both hands on the bar as his hands were surrounded in white shells of energy.

"Well... just full of surprises." Boshihari said with a small smirk. "I know that multiple blades are possible... but only our original matriarch, Uzumaki Benihime, was ever a holder to that many. She made thirteen from her chakra but four is still mightily impressive."

**[Flashback End]**

His katana was held in both hands as he ran and traded slashes with Boshihari's Obsidian Naginata. Suddenly they arrived at the rim of the volcano and Boshihari held her obsidian blade against Naruto's Osmium one.

"What now?" Boshihari asked. Naruto pulled back a little to throw his sensei off balance before jumping off the rim and straight into the volcano.

The Obsidian Monk looked at him as he rolled into a landing on a platform that rose from the lava. She just loved that power of the Lava Release and Naruto shared her love of it too. She flipped off the rim and a chain shot from her hand so that she swung until she dissipated it and landed just ten meters from him on her own island of stone in the volcano.

While to normal people, the platforms would cause extreme burns to their feet the two Uzumaki had specialized bodies thanks to their natural Lava Release that allowed them to be unaffected by any aspects of molten stone and geothermal substances.

Naruto allowed his zanpakuto to disappear back to the seal he made in midair of lava this time. "You really enjoy using your personal pocket dimension in your style." Boshihari said with a smirk.

"It is useful." Naruto said as he slammed his palms to the platform he stood on.** "Wave Release: Lava Tides Jutsu!"**

Boshihari smirked as she saw the wave oncoming and moved not an inch. It was just like her cousin and student to mix sub-elements together. Most Uzumaki only used Wave Release - a combination of Water and Yang that most could access - to create tidal waves of water but Naruto found ways for it to be useful in other situations. He was creative in most if not all of the elements he used.

As the wave was about to crash into her, Boshihari blew and her breath carried water that turned the lava wave into stone which was easy to shatter with her fist by pulsing Yang chakra through it just prior to the point of impact.

She frowned though as she couldn't see Naruto or feel his chakra. It had been a diversion... smart. She had been too cocky and now she lost him.

Where could he be? She suddenly felt something small... most sensors would have ignored it but she smirked, knowing exactly what it was. Or rather who it was.

She quickly turned around as Naruto came from the lava, spinning in a vortex upwards and bringing lava with him as he shot skyward before he dove down at her. **"Lava Style: Magma Corkscrew!"** He shouted as gravity increased his speed at his target.

Boshihari smirked and pulsed Yang chakra in her legs as she jumped up, dodging his nintaijutsu attack and shot chains from her palms to grab him before yanking him higher in the air than her as her height decreased.

She released him and planted one foot on the inside of the volcano's stone face and jumped off to the rim of the volcano on the other side and then jumped again, getting higher than Naruto before forming a whip of water and lashing out, wrapping it around his ankle and spinning before letting go at the right moment to send him hurtling at the ground towards the deep onsen.

He hit the water a full three seconds before she landed on it, using chakra to stay afloat. She watched in satisfaction as he swam to the surface, Water Armor coating him.

"I win." She said as she noted his injuries. Naruto simply smirked and rose to the water's surface with chakra and spoke one word.

"Boom." Quickly, Boshihari used a kawarimi to avoid being sprayed by shards of obsidian.

_Using my own Exploding Obsidian Clone Jutsu on me? Wait... that means..._

Too late she realized her mistake and barely turned in time to see Naruto's punch, a seal array in front of it. **"Water Style: Dragon Fist!" **He shouted as the very Water Dragon Missile she tried to use on him slammed into her as Naruto's fist made contact with her side and she flew backwards, landing on her feet while sliding backwards a few feet.

If she had any response, she couldn't say it as Naruto fell to his knees on the stone floor outside the onsen. "I... got you... Hari-neechan..." His smile stayed in place even as he passed out from chakra exhaustion.

Boshihari slowly walked to the boy and knelt beside him, running a hand through his hair. "Good job, Naruto-chan. Just like a fox... fooled even me on what you were doing. That intelligence is just what you need to beat tougher opponents."

She sighed and felt her side, wincing at the phantom pain as her healing factor was already working to erase the injury. Had he planned this from when he first sealed the dragon missile... or was he just improvising everything as he went?

Either way one thing was for sure. Naruto was definitely Minato and Kushina's boy... the sheer genius and ability to think on his feet was proof of that.

"Now... let's just hope Konoha never learns of your location before you're ready." Boshihari mumbled as she formed a wood cabin and picked her student up, heading inside.

She just didn't realize that Konoha was the least of their problems right now. The least worrying and least powerful.

**And... that's it!**

**Orpheus out! Ja ne!**


	5. Chapter IV: Ambushed

**Born of Obsidian**

**Chapter IV: Ambushed**

**"Every battle is won **_**before **_**it is fought."**

**-Sun Tzu**

Once more in Kawa no Kuni were the Uzumaki duo of Boshihari and Naruto, walking on the dirt path. It had been just over eight months since Naruto's last field exam and just afterward, Boshihari had begun to teach him other aspects of the shinobi life.

"Name the divisions of shinobi and their purpose." She spoke. It had become common for her to give him sudden quizzes on the knowledge she had taught him.

"Okay... the Healing and Restoration Division, also called the medic-nin, is responsible for curing poisons and diseases as well as healing injuries within the ninja population. The Defense and Protection Division, also called guard-nin, is responsible for keeping a country's borders safe, security detail on important figures in the village - like the kage and clan heads - and general defense of the village itself. The Knowledge and Education Division, also called teacher-nin, is responsible for teaching those of a lower rank the basics - these include Chunin working in an Academy and Jonin sensei over a genin squad. The Capture and Tracking Division, also called hunter-nin, is responsible for finding missing-nin. If the nukenin is of their own village, their body should be disposed of but if he or she is of a different village then the person should be captured alive if possible. Lastly is the Assassination and Infiltration Division, also known as Killer-nin, is responsible for carrying out missions which require taking out a specific target or getting inside enemy territory."

"Good. Tell me the ranks and how they affect the Divisions."

"The Shinobi Ranks consist of Academy Student, Genin, Tokubetsu Genin, Chunin, Elite Chunin, Tokubetsu Jonin, Jonin, ANBU, ANBU Captain, ANBU Commander and then Elite Jonin in order from lowest to highest. The Divisions are separated in two branches, non-ANBU and ANBU.

"Within the ANBU each Division in presided over by either an ANBU Captain or the Commander and even though it is possible to make Captain and not be in charge of a Division of ANBU, no one beneath the rank of ANBU Captain - excepting only the Elite Jonin - can be the Head of Division in the ANBU.

"The non-ANBU branch is different however. The Head of Division can be of any rank, even genin, as long as one condition is met: they have to be the most qualified for the position. Within the six Divisions, a Chunin may very well outrank an Elite Jonin but when two or more Divisions interact with each other on missions the ranking system is put in effect and as long as one individual's rank is above another's of a separate Division - even if the lower ranking shinobi or kunoichi is a Head of Division - then the higher-ranking shinobi or kunoichi should be considered a superior officer."

Boshihari nodded. It seemed he retained the knowledge extremely well. The most surprising aspect was that he didn't even wear Minerva while she taught him that. He had memorized that without any aids, and at only eight too.

"Final Question: Wha-" She never finished as suddenly the duo found themselves surrounded on all sides. Boshihari remained emotionless and looked at who she thought to be the leader as he spoke.

He had blue hair set in a spiked ponytail, streaked with white on either side just above his ears, deep brown eyes and a tan face full of scars. As for clothing he wore a typical Chunin vest that was grey, a brown shirt and black pants, black sandals and around his forearm was a hitai-ite with a muscial note on the plate. "You two are on forbidden territory. This is property belonging to Otogakure no Sato and the Otokage himself.

"As punishment, you will be detained and imprisoned until our kage and master decides your fates personally." Boshihari gave him a bored gaze with her single eye before looking at Naruto once more.

"Final Question: Each of the village's has at least one Special Division. Name at least one of each of the Five Great Nations." She told him. This angered the leader.

"Did you hear me, bitch? I said that you two were going to be captured and imprisoned!"

"Konohagakure no Sato has the Twelve Fire Guardians." Naruto began before the leader spoke again.

"Fuck it! Kill the boy! That bitch needs to learn a lesson though!" His dark smirk left no room for doubt as to what he meant and the grins of the other dozen men showed this would not their first time doing that sort of thing.

"Sunagakure no Sato has the Puppet Corps." Naruto spoke once more even as he created a seal in midair out of water and pulled out a katana-like blade. "Kumogakure no Sato has the Kinkaku Force." Boshihari held out her hand where a naginata with an Obsidian blade formed. "Iwagakure no Sato has the Blast Corps." The Otogakure shinobi cracked their knuckles, readying for a fight. "Lastly Kirigakure no Sato has the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist."

That must've been the signal to everyone as immediately the thirteen ninja dashed forward on the Uzumaki duo. First four launched a flurry of shuriken at them but Naruto formed several storage arrays of water in the air to capture them even as he ran at the ninja, katana low as he ran. He gripped it in both hands with Yang chakra flowing through his arms to allow him the ability to wield it.

One of the Otogakure shinobi had what appeared to be a crossbow and aimed it at the jinchuriki, holding down the trigger as a volley of five steel-tipped bolts shot at him. Naruto inhaled and through pure water manipulation shot a pressurized burst of water that caused the bolts to veer off course while he kept running.

A Yang-chakra enhanced jump carried him forward enough that he could slash down at the man's crossbow. At the same time he channeled fire chakra to his foot and slammed it into the man's face, burning his flesh and landing on his feet. The larger opponent glared at the redhead with one hand over his face nursing the second degree burn he had just gained to his cheek.

Naruto knew that he had more to worry about though as two more thugs - what else could you call a dozen men ganging up on a woman and child? - tried to grab him only for him to be replaced by a log.

When he reappeared he was behind the very two and was on the final sign of a string of one-handed seals. **"Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Flower Jutsu!" **Using his free left hand, he made a circle with his thumb and index finger before shooting ten small balls of flame at the duo, peppering them with burns all over their body.

The two shouted in pain even as the third of the trio he was fighting performed handseals. **"Lightning Style: False Darkness!" **And with that, he shot a large spear of electricity right at Naruto.

**"Wood Style: Protection of the Forest!"** He shouted while placing both hands to the ground and summoning a wall of logs that kept the lightning from harming him by being grounded. This small display immediately caused the three to jump back.

"He has the Mokuton..." One said and that must have been a cue for four others to surround him.

_There goes my advantage of underestimation..._ He thought with a mental sigh and resummoned his zanpakuto, the single one he could release even after over a year and a half of being in possession of four.

"Orochimaru-sama will reward us greatly if we capture him!" One said.

"He has to be a Senju! Get him!"

Naruto's hair shadowed his eyes as he held his sword in both hands. "So... that's who the Otokage is... Boshi-nee told me a bit about your master. She also told me no one can know about me yet... so I do apologize for what I must do. **Raise your head, Wabisuke!"**

His sword then began to change and at the end the top of it extended before becoming a square hook. Naruto held it low to the ground as he readied himself to take on seven opponents. He could tell they weren't even Chunin level, but it was still seven-on-one.

**[With Boshihari]**

Boshihari spun around another flurry of shuriken, continuing to dodge those four-pointed stars of steel from five sides without ever leaving the area of one square meter. Her opponents were getting rather impatient, her Negative Emotions Sense told her, but that was good.

Emotions are just a tool a ninja can use. Keep yours close to you and throw your opponent's into disarray and the battle was already won.

Her emotions were getting a bit away from her though as she sensed seven signatures surrounding her cousin. She was confident in his abilities... but she still had that part of her that was concerned for his safety.

Boshihari's instincts kicked in as she was lost in thought and her obsidian naginata came up to parry a ninjato that one of the ninja tried to lunge her with. As the shorter blade went high, Boshihari kicked forward, knocking the Otogakure shinobi back.

As soon as she regained footing, the Uzumaki-Senju stabbed the base of her staff into the ground and used it to vault over the two Oto nin trying to rush her from opposite sides. Spinning in midair, she threw her naginata like a spear at one and it buried all the way down to the staff, an audible shattering noise as the black glass broke into shards from the force.

Boshihari rolled as she hit the ground, getting up with another oak staff in hand in time to deflect six kunai and a dozen shuriken thrown by the remaining quartet using a simple spinning motion of it.

The staff then disappeared and she began handseals. **"Fire Style: Great Annihilating Fire!"**

As a tidal wave of flames approached the four ninja... they could only see their lives flash by before it ended.

**[With Naruto]**

With his only releasable zanpakuto in Shikai, Naruto dashed forward. His hooked blade first slashed in a wide arc to deflect a few shuriken and then with a duck roll, the eight year old was behind one of the ninja. He slashed twice in quick succession at that one's right arm.

He then coated his blade in fire chakra as he felt two ninja coming from behind and made a half-spin, slashing flames out from Wabisuke that elicited screams from the two - both probably early teens - as they were burned in a few places.

Naruto ducked down and then jumped to the left, avoiding first another set of five bolts and then a downward slash from one shinobi's naginata. Seeing the naginata he slammed Wabisuke onto it's blade before jumping back in time to dodge shuriken now embedded where he had stood not a moment prior.

Seeing how dire the situation was, Naruto quickly grabbed his mask from within his robe and placed it over his face. Once Yoko was in place four fox tails materialized before him in time to surround his body in a layer of protection from shuriken on all sides.

The redhead thanked the Heavens these tails were simply ethereal constructs yet impenetrable. Boshihari once compared them to a technique Madara had... something called Susano'o.

The tails pressed into the ground at four corners surrounding him and pushed up, throwing him in the air and allowing him to perform one-handed seals. **"Blaze Style: Foxfire Jutsu!"** By adding a portion of his Yin chakra to Fire in equal amounts, this style was created that allowed for the creation of hellfire in any color the user wished. For this particular technique, Naruto sprayed a stream of blue fire from Yoko's mouth that succeeded in taking out two of the ninja who weren't on guard. Another had his leg burst into flames and was ultimately consumed since only a handful of things could actually put out a Blaze Style ninjutsu.

He landed back down but instead of Wabisuke in his hand, it was now in one tail's grasp with his other three zanpakuto in the other three tails he was capable of holding at his current level of mastery over Yoko.

Naruto himself was on all fours, digging his feet and hands into the earth before dashing forward.

The first Oto nin he had fought against shot more bolts at him while the other three dashed forward - one holding two tanto, one with a katana and wakizashi and one with a battleax of all things.

The bolts seemed to move slow for Yoko, he was a fox. His ears twitched as he could tell where they were going by just the places air was split in their path. Yoko dug his paws into the ground and jumped up, spinning as his other self - Naruto - spoke something.

**"Lava Style: Twisting Vortex!"** Yoko knew what Naruto wanted and moved his tails to help him. The four tails with blades pointed forward even as Naruto sped right for and into the one with the ax and both tore through his defenses and his body before Yoko landed on all fours.

The Lava Armor dispelled from Naruto and Yoko incited a Blaze Armor over them of black fire taking the shape of a fox as the two dashed as one, perfectly in sync as black fire formed three-inch claws which gashed one of the shinobi and the three unreleased zanpakuto entered the other close one from the back and from two sides at the front before ripping out.

Yoko licked his lips as his bloodlust was sated. Six killed... two more than the tails Naruto was allowed all at once. Naruto felt his mask's spirit's happiness and a fifth ethereal tail form just before the mask dropped to the grass, relieving him of Yoko's spirit.

The crossbow-wielding ninja had dropped his weapon in fear as Naruto looked at him, grabbing his mask. He was the very same Boshihari assumed was leader and as the blue-haired man backed up, it was right in to a wooden wall before thorned vines wrapped around him tightly, preventing movement.

Boshihari looked at her student. "Naruto-chan, what did I say about that mask?" The smaller redhead grinned sheepishly.

"To keep better control so the demon within doesn't take over?" She stared at him sternly and the Uzumaki heir put his hands up defensively. "But Yoko has better control over Blaze than me and when we work together we do things I can't do alone."

"That is beyond the point. Yoko is a kitsune and..." She stopped and frowned. "We'll talk later, first I want to hear from this man just why he deemed it necessary to attack two individuals claiming no village and by all accounts could be mistaken for civilians."

"Like I'll tell you!" He shouted and spat at Boshihari. "Bitch."

Boshihari looked unamused and looked back to Naruto. "This is the perfect opportunity to give you a lesson in interrogation." She plainly stated as she stepped before the ninja she trapped. "Who are you?"

"Your mom's boyfriend!" He snidely commented before howling in pain as the vines tightened and thorns filled nerve toxins stabbed into his body, painfully injecting his body with said poison like an organic needle.

"Each lie will grant a punishment worst than the last." She coldly informed him. "Answer the question."

"Think I'm scared of a woman? Ha! You could never be more of a threat than Orochimaru-sama!" Boshihari rose one eyebrow, the one over her good eye, and a glass shard appeared in her hand.

"I'll be glad to prove you wrong." She spoke as that glass shard suddenly found a new home inside the ninja's thigh where she had impaled him. He shouted in grueling pain as she slowly dragged that shard across his leg and pulled the now red stained fragment out and his pants began to grow a red patch.

"F-fu... AH!" He screamed again as that same shard was stuck in his opposite leg and put through the same injury.

"Next I cut what's in between." She told him with the shard hovering just over his crotch, that look in her eyes telling the man she was serious.

"O-okay... my name is Doyure."

"Why did you attack us?"

"Orochimaru-sama gave orders that anyone found in the area around any base was to be captured for his experiments and whatever squad captured any would get payment and was allowed to use the women as they wished."

"As they wished?" Naruto tilted his head curiously. "What's that mean?"

Boshihari saw the shinobi about to speak and gave him a look that silenced him. "I'll tell you later, Naruto-chan. Now, Doyure, you've caught others for experimentation?" The ninja surprisingly shook his head. "Give me something or I'll chop it off and let you die here, bleeding out of the very part which had you lusting after a monk of the Fire Temple."

"Th-there... in the base... it is a prison for the experiments Orochimaru-sama can't control..." He was sweating profusely. "There are a few dozen Oto nin and 13 experiments there: 5 men, 4 women and 4 children and teenagers."

Boshihari eyed him. "Naruto-chan, you didn't detect a lie, right?" He shook his head. "Me neither." Boshihari looked at Doyure emotionlessly and the shard in her hand suddenly caused him to choke and convulse as it was embedded in his throat on the left side. A single swipe to the right and blood poured from his neck where it was slashed open.

"Naruto-chan, remember this lesson and remember it well. An enemy who has seen your face and seen your style, if let go, can come back to punish you for being weak. In this world of shinobi, there is no good and evil. There are only enemies, those you call allies until they betray you and then there is family. Uzumaki always stick by another, no matter what."

"Hai, Boshi-nee. Nothing is more important to an Uzumaki than family." The one-eyed woman nodded and dropped the shard in the grass as she walked, Naruto just a step behind.

"Now... let's see what Orochimaru is up to. I can feel a mass of signatures not far off that has to be the base. Let's give you another field exam... your first mission you could say."

"What's the mission?" He asked.

"Find the children and teenagers. They could be... useful in our endeavors. I simply hope none of them are psychotic. Then they'd have to be... put out of their misery."

"So, to the base?"

"To the base."


	6. Chapter V: Down the Right Path

**Born of Obsidian**

**Chapter V: Down the Right Path**

**"Opportunities multiply as they are seized."**

**-Sun Tzu**

"Is that it, Boshi-nee?" Naruto asked as they stopped before a large compound where he felt quite a bit of signatures inside. The older Uzumaki nodded.

"This is it, I do believe." She replied, looking at the big, iron, double doors of the base. Two Shadow Clones she had scout the perimeter of it told her there were no windows on the entire base. "The objective is quite simple, Naruto-chan. The Otogakure ninja are to be subdued. Captured if possible but killed if necessary. These... 'experiments' are to be approached with caution. If they attack, subdue them. If they run away, leave them. If one is Uzumaki or of a clan branched from the Uzumaki, it would be best to gain their trust. They are family, after all."

"Hai, Boshi-nee."

"Naruto-chan, this is a high leveled test of your skills." She spoke as she looked at him. "I want you ro do something for me. I used the Spectre mask and just past this door is a corridor running left and right to get to both sides of the base. You take right and I'll go left."

Naruto understood the implications of what he was being told and nodded. "Hai. I will make you proud." Boshihari smiled at him and ruffled his hair.

"You always do." She kneeled before him and touched the blue crystal necklace around his neck which she had given him for his eighth birthday. It looked similar to the green one her own father wore and Tsunade currently possessed. This one had belonged to Tobirama though.

"You will no doubt be great, Naruto-chan. The blood of three Hokage runs through you, the blood of the Senju, Namikaze and Uzumaki is in your veins. You have the potential to outshine even my father and his rival. This ocean crystal, your zanpakuto, Yoko and your Royal Ring, these are your tools to complete this mission. Your skills will keep you alive. Trust your instincts. Trust your abilities. Trust your training."

Naruto nodded. "I will, Boshi-nee." Boshihari smiled as she held that crystal once belonging to her uncle in her right hand.

"Use your advantages and make your enemies pay for their weaknesses." She hugged the boy tightly before standing and turning to the door. "Your mission begins now." And with that she held a ram seal as she focused on melding her Fire, Water and Yang chakra into Acid Style before she spat at the iron doors and the ensuing glob of purplish liquid began to eat at the metallic doors.

In only seconds, the entire thing was gone and the Uzumaki walked inside. Just as Boshihari said, there was a fork immediately at a ninety degree angle to the entrance, one heading left and one right. At the point of divergence Naruto looked up at Boshihari and she looked down at him. "Good luck, Boshi-nee." Naruto said with a smile to her.

She smiled back and ruffled his hair. "Come back to me alive and unijured, Naruto-chan." She said before each turned and walked on their respective paths.

Naruto began walking down his corridor, noticing the flickering lights on the roof, long and tube-like. The corridor itself was greyish and made of stone - or felt like it as he trailed one hand along the wall. His footsteps echoed lightly so he slowed his walking and began walking toe-heel instead of heel-toe - a trick Boshihari taught him that quieted his steps to nearly untacable unless someone had enhanced senses.

He noticed doors on both sides but with no chakra blocking seals, no emotions and no chakra signatures sensable he didn't even bother with them. In fact, he only felt two signatures in this whole corridor... right by each other.

He walked to that very room and saw the door... gone. Not gone, perse. Each of those doors he noticed was solid iron and yet the door for this room had been ripped off its hinges and was on the floor a few feet further, as if it had been thrown. Who could have performed such a feat?

Looking inside the room, Naruto had a guess. There were two occupants. The albino one who looked seven with platinum blonde hair and light purple eyes, a metallic gauntlet on either hand covered in seals - ones he recognized as gravity seals that lightened an object - and mere rags for clothing probably hadn't done it.

The one above her with eyes full of bloodlust probably was. Six and a half feet and bulky with muscles, insanity in amber eyes, messy silver hair and a black shirt with sleeves ripped off as well as ANBU pants cut off at the knee to turn them into shorts, the creature was definitely an experiment. Naruto very much noticed a Juin on the individual's neck.

The experiment's ear twitched as Naruto stepped in the room and quickly turned, roaring ferally as he laid eyes on Naruto. The redhead felt intense Killer Intent and rage from this being - the insanity coming from him as well meant Naruto couldn't even call him human anymore - and had to stop himself from panicking.

He stayed strong thanks to Boshihari's training though and channeled Yang chakra to his ears and eyes, sharpening both senses sharply even as the monstosity dashed at him on all fours.

In response, Naruto formed a ram seal and water in the air formed into tendrils before creating an intricate seal, a Level 4 Barrier Seal that stopped that wild experiment's rush. He shook his head, probably trying to clear the cobwebs from his mind.

This gave Naruto just the opportunity he needed to mold chakra via a chain of three handseals and mix Fire and Earth. **"Lava Style: Congealing Limestone Jutsu!"** He spat out a substance and using his massive affinity to water, caused the air around the experiment to liquefy and mix with the substance he spat until he was covered in concrete.

Naruto couldn't help but smirk a little to himself. That is, until the concrete began to crack. His grin faded as he formed a seal in mid-air of water connected to the pocket dimension he stored all his possessions in before grabbing a naginata of oak and steel he had been learning from his older sister-figure and sensei.

Finally, as he gripped the naginata in two hands, the giant of a man let loose a roar and fragments of concrete flew everywhere as the experiment's rage grew and his murderous intent towards the small boy daring to challenge him rose exponentially. Said boy gripped his weapon as the experiment bagan another rush at him.

As the first punch came, Naruto spun and dragged the point of his blade across the side of the experiment's torso, eliciting a fierce roar and the creature's instinctual reaction to thrash around, knocking the Uzumaki back into a wall. Dazed and hurt from his head hitting concrete, Naruto's focus only came in time for him to widen his eyes as the experiment rushed again.

He felt his heart rate increase exponentially as time slowed a little. Adrenaline coursed through his blood but still, he couldn't move. On the edge of his consciousness, there was same pain on the back of his head and on his ribs. Injuries that would heal momentarily thanks to his Uzumaki Blood's Sacred Healing aspect that allowed mere flesh wounds like that to heal in moments. Moments he didn't have.

**"S-Steel Sty-Style: S-Steel Enc-campment Wa-a-all!"** Naruto heard a stuttery voice from his left and a grey wall, two feet thick rose in front of him just in time for the experiment's head to ram into it. This reprieve was all Naruto needed and he stood. He looked at the naginata, or what was left of it.

That crash snapped the oak staff and the steel blade actually bent in hald horizontally. Boshihari had given him that staff... now what was he supposed to do? He shook out of that thought and performed a back handspring, sticking to the vertical wall behind him as the steel structure shot forward.

"Such strength..." Naruto whispered to himself. The beast roared once more and literally tore a chunk of the steel wall before tossing it at Naruto. He jumped from his wall to the one on his left and saw the crater in the wall he was just on - the one opposite the door.

He needed a plan, Naruto realized and quickly wove through handseals. **"Blaze Style: Hellstream!"** With that, he shot a stream of black flames at the creature but was surprised when the flames hit his skin. They... dissipated.

"Ch-chakra doesn't affect K-Kurokyo." The albino girl said from her corner. "Th-that"s one o-of his J-juin's a-ab-abilities." This made Naruto internally curse. No ninjutsu, no fuinjutsu and if he knew any no genjutsu either. His taijutsu was out too since he relied on nintaijutsu in his style. That left only...

**"Raise your head, Wabisuke!"** Naruto called out after he released it from his storage dimension, allowing it to transform into its hooked blade Shikai. Holding it in both hands, Naruto channeled chakra to his blue necklace.

Even as he did, the chakra - though originally normal - transmuted into water chakra before Water Armor materialized aroung him and his zanpakuto. Naruto forced his armor to recede to a thick layer over his feet and legs as he slightly bent his knees. He jumped off and a portion of his Water Armor was used to propel his fast enough to dodge the experiment's fist.

As he had so often done before - so much he was as good as any Inuzuka - Naruto spun in midiar but instead of having his hands forward as usual, he held his sword perpendicular to his body and felt the cold steel taste the experiment's flesh at least three times before he landed on the opposite wall.

The beast was obviously in pain, but that wasn't Naruto's goal. He performed the same maneveur, a double helix of water trailing his wake as he left a shallow gash in the experiment's other side, landing on the wall with what was once the door but only just a hole in the wall the size and shape of a door now.

Naruto did the math in his head quick. This beast had to be at least three hundred pounds of muscle, give or take fifty pounds. Each cut would have doubled his weight and with four, he had to be at least a ton now. The theory was proved correct when the experiment fell to his hands and knees.

This was the point Naruto jumped off once more, Yang chakra used first and a final burst of water at the right moment he used to flip until he stood on the creature's back and placed the hook around the front of the mindless being's neck. "Blood is atonement for your sins. Death forgives your life. Move to the afterlife in peace and find tranquility." He spoke just before jerking up, detaching the monster's head from his broad shoulders.

He flipped off just as the extremely heavy body crashed to the floor, rising smoke and rubble from the ground. Naruto himself landed easily and his zanpakuto went back to its unreleased state as he summoned the sheathe from his storage dimension and placed his katana-like zanpakuto within it.

Since there would likely be another battle, Naruto decided to place the sword on his right hip just in case. He then turned his eyes on the albino girl who looked a year younger and smiled to her as he knelt in front of her quivering form in the corner. "You okay?"

She nodded nervously. "A-arigato. Kurokyo surely would have killed me... he must have got out of his c-cell again. After he kills, he falls asleep and the g-guards j-just put him b-back, even th-though when h-he wakes u-up he al-always t-tears through the d-door."

Naruto frowned. "He should have been killed earlier... if for no other reason than mercy. Psychopathy is no way to live. I'm Naruto, by the way."

"H-h-hibiki." She responded. "Ano... Naruto-nii... why are you h-here?" Naruto stood and offered his hand to the albino.

"Well, my sensei and I were passing by and were ambushed by a dozen or so of the shinobi here. She decided we would kill the Otogakure shinobi and free the experiments within." Hibiki stood with Naruto's help and fidgeted nervously.

"C-could you help me f-find m-my onee-ch-chan?" She asked while looking at the ground. "W-we were to-together b-but th-then she w-was t-taken to a diff-different c-cell t-two days a-ago. I h-haven't s-s-seen her s-since."

Naruto looked at Hibiki and couldn't help but smille. "Sure." Her reaction was immediate and was to wrap her arms around Naruto's waist with such strength he could barely breathe.

When she finally let go, she looked up at him. "If she's on this half of the base, I'll definitely find her."

"A-arigato." The Uzumaki closed his eyes as the albino looked at him. "Wh-what are y-you d-doing?"

"I'm canceling out my sense of sight so my other five senses can temporarily be enhanced. Unlike normal people, I'm a sensor-type. That means I can sense and distinguish between chakra signatures easily, a sixth sense as it were. If I close my eyes I can both increase my range and accuracy in discerning these signatures."

"W-wouldn't y-y-you have t-to k-know h-her ch-chakra s-s-sig-signature though?" Naruto shook his head.

"There are only three signatures here on this side. One of them has to be your onee-chan." Hibiki nodded. "If there's another fight, stay back."

"B-but I c-can help..." She mumbled. Naruto opened his eyes and looked at her. "I'm a K-k-kotetsu." Naruto nodded.

"That's why you know the Steel Style. Can you use any offensive jutsu?" Hibiki shook her head.

"I c-can make w-walls and b-bar-barriers." She informed him.

"Then you be my support. I'll attack and you protect me. That is, even if we have to fight." Hibiki nodded and followed after the redhead as he left the cell she had been in.

Unlike Naruto's silent footsteps, Hibiki's were heavy. Not louder than a normal person but heavy like a person walking who didn't have any practice in sneaking. "Hibiki-chan?" She looked up at him. "Why don't you try walking toe-heel?"

At her quizzical look, Naruto expanded. "Walk with your toe stepping to the floor first then let the back of your foot follow."

Hibiki tried what he said, stepping on the front of her foot. It seemed a bit awkward to her and she wondered why he wanted her to do it. "If you walk like that, it's quieter and harder to track." Naruto said as he stopped in front of another iron door.

He then held a ram seal to better mold his water affinity as he created a seal with his favored method. Most used ink and paper, but with the affinity to Suiton he had - one equivalent to if not exceeding both his great-great-grandfather and the Hozuki clan of Kirigakure - as well as his enormous chakra reserves and finely tuned control gained from training, it would be idiotic not to use it for fuinjutsu since he could.

The tendrils of water intersected and crossed atop the surface of the door in such a way as to form an intricate storage seal. At least level six, this one would not only store the iron door elsewhere, but store it in the exact location within Naruto's personal storage dimension he wanted.

As the door disappeared, a single burst of air was all Naruto and Hibiki felt that traveled down the hallway behind them in a burst of speed. "Well... that was one of the experiments. Their chakra signature just sped away."

"S-senko Y-yami." Hibiki said. "Y-yami's J-juin unlocked h-h-her k-k-kekkai g-genkai of s-superhuman sp-speed. She s-saw the ch-chance to leave and l-left." Naruto nodded.

"I would too. Well, let's head to the next door then." They began walkingg once more to the next signature. "Hibiki-chan, why are you here? I thought it was for uncooperative experiments?'

Hibiki's pale face grew red. "I... ano... m-my t-talents aren't i-in off-offensive t-tech-techniques. M-my sk-skill is i-in barr-barriers and w-walls. O-oro-orochimaru s-sent me h-here s-since I w-was useless."

Naruto thought for a moment. "That doesn't make you useless. I know ways to use barriers or walls in offensive ways, but even so without them the majority of my style would be useless. If you don't have any way to defend yourself how can you possibly hope to win a fight?"

He shrugged and shook his head as they reached the second door. "Plus, if your talents are barriers, you'll probably learn Kekkai Fuinjutsu easily."

"Art of Barrier seals?" She asked without a stutter somehow.

"Yeah, watch." Naruto manipulated watery tendrils on the door and a thin blue aura shrouded it. "This one is a barrier that cancels other fuinjutsu on an object. The door contains part of the chakra supression seal that keep chakra from working in them. That's why when the door opens - breaking the seal - the experiments can use their abilities."

Hibiki nodded. "S-so... y-you c-can use s-seals to b-block th-things?"

"That's one way to say it." Naruto answered as he pressed his palms to the door and his hands glowed silver. Slowly walking back, chains materialized connecting the door and him. From those chains more branched out until sixteen chains were attached to the door.

Then instead of pulling, as Hibiki was positive he would do, Naruto channeled Lava chakra through the chakra conducive contructs. The iron door began to burn bright red before it simply melted where it stood and then Naruto caused water in the air to crash over it, rapidly cooling it back into iron though it was an oblongly-shaped lump of mass now.

Naruto peeked within this room but was surprised when he saw no one. "That's strange... I was so sure someone was inside... I can't even feel a chakra signature anymore." He stepped inside the cell and sighed.

"N-naruto-nii?" Hibiki stood next to him. "Th-this might b-be R-reika's room. Sh-she had th-the abilities t-to turn in-invisible, s-silent and in-intangible f-for sh-short periods. Wh-when y-you bl-blocked the ch-chakra s-supression s-seal... sh-she pr-probably w-went in-into the floor a-and tu-tunneled un-under the b-b-base."

Naruto nodded. "That only leaves one room then, Hibiki-chan." Naruto noted and motioned her to follow him. She complied easily. "Your onee-chan is probably in it." Hibiki smiled as they stopped in front of the door and suddenly hugged Naruto tight without warning around the waist.

He didn't move a moment but then smiled and completed the embrace, hugging her softly to himself. "A-arigato, N-naruto-niichan!" She thanked him as she let go and looked at the iron door. The seals on her gauntlets began glowing before she thrust them forward, palms still an inch from the door. **"Sound Barrier: Blast!"** She yelled and the air shimmered in front of her as a barrier of what Naruto assumed was the sound barrier she spoke of.

Time seemed to slow for Naruto as he focused on the glowing seal, feeling the chakra along its engraved strokes, piecing together the function it was created for.

Closing his eyes, he pictured the seal in his mind as Boshihari had forced him to do on more than a few occasions to see a seal in his mind and analyze it. It was a barrier seal... cross-connected with an elemental matrix seal which turned normal chakra channeled into it into lightning and wind with equal parts of each before melding them. The new element - sound - then was formed into a barrier as it was released.

He opened his eyes and felt the sound-natured construct still moving as time went normal once more to him and the door bent at the point of impact before falling inwards and hitting the floor with an echoing crash as it rose of rubble and smoke.

Within, Naruto felt the signature: high reserves, high control and extreme affinity to Water, Yin and Yang. Those could only mean one thing...

"Nee-chan!" Hibiki said happily as the smoke settled to reveal a girl probably a year Naruto's senior. She had blood-red hair, crimson eyes behind slim glasses and wore a purple coat that ended just past her knees and shorts of the same shade. The girl and Naruto looked at one another with Hibiki smiling wider before she rushed the female redhead and hugged her tight. "You're okay, nee-chan! I was so worried! But Naruto-nii here helped me find you after he saved me from Kurokyou!"

Each noticed the girl hadn't stuttered at all. "Naruto?" She asked and said boy waved.

"Uzumaki Naruto, at your service." He said with a foxy grin and a small nod of his head. The other girl's eyes widened a bit.

"I'm Uzumaki Karin." At that, Naruto's own eyes were widened as well.

"U-uzumaki?"

**And that's it!**

**Naruto found Hibiki and Karin on his very first "mission"! Both are majorly important, but not in the way of pairing.**

**Wonder what's going on with Boshihari-sensei?**

**Orpheus out! Ja ne!**


	7. Chapter VI: Down the Left Path

**Born of Obsidian**

**Chapter VI: Down the Left Path**

**"He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight."**

**-Sun Tzu**

Boshihari watched him go, and when he turned the corner she kept track of his chakra signature. It was all she could do to hold herself back from shadowing him and keeping him safe.

_He has to get experience... If you coddle him there is no way he'll be great as he's destined. _Boshihari sighed and clenched her fist. It was... hard. She just wanted Naruto safe, but as a jinchuuriki he never would be. As an Uzumaki _and _a jinchuuriki it was worse. He would have too many Nations after the power he held to survive unless he began training now.

Shaking her head to clear such thoughts away, Boshihari channeled chakra to the floor through her feet and an oaken staff five feet tall slowly rose until she grasped it. As she did, she channeled her sole natural kekkai touta through the chakra wood, forcing a razor-sharp blade to materialize from the tip extending the weapon another three feet as her signature obsidian naginata was formed.

The wood and glass then were surrounded in a shell of light blue chakra before it dissipated, symbols on each glowing momentarily before the illumination they exuded disappeared, though the power still remained in the seals. Gripping the weapon in her right hand, Boshihari walked, using her favored tool of combat as a walking stick.

Eyes closed, she could almost imagine she was once more in the Fire Temple among the other monks. Smiling to herself at that memory, she recalled how hard item had been to allow them to let her in among themselves. A woman monk? Absurd!

Still, she had done it. She didn't regret a moment of those years in the temple. She had used it to refine and perfect her style. That isolation allowed her to master all the elements she had, to learn to use her naginata, to reach the highest level of her zanpakutou, to achieve a level of spiritual balance she never thought possible. _"Focus, Boshi." _

That thought was not her own, but she had grown accustomed to the voice and heeded its warning. She opened her eyes and focused her sensory skills. Multiple signatures were brought to her attention as she pulsed her chakra.

Her pace did not alter in speed nor silence, but she did grip her naginata a little tighter. The corner was approaching, around which were three signatures. She would take out the genin-level one first and then focus on the two near Jounin level ones.

Tensing, she gripped the staff of her naginata and quickly turned the corner, surprising the trio of shinobi standing guard in front of a cell with an iron door. The genin-level one was probably only ten, but she didn't let that phase her and allowed her obsidian blade to coat itself in orange flames before beheading the young ninja working for Orochimaru, cauterizing the boy's throat and preventing any blood flow as he died.

"Jiroubou-otouto!" One of the others yelled. A glance told Boshihari they were twins, identical. Both brunette teens of only sixteen or so with black eyes, pale skin and strange tattoos on their neck resembling the symbol for yin-yang. Both had hitai-ites on their forehead with a music note on it and wore a variation on the Konoha jounin uniform with gray shirts, black ANBU pants and black flak jackets.

"I apologize for your brother's death, and for what I must do next. My imouto's life is far more important to me though." Boshihari intoned. It fell on deaf ears as the two became covered in black markings and exuded dark energy.

"I'll kill you!" One said angrily and rushed her, lividness flowing off her body in waves. Kunai appeared in her hands, swinging wildly at the Uzumaki. Boshihari backed out of the range of the first slash, spun around the lunge and as she did her staff swung low, tripping the girl.

As she fell, the naginata spun and obsidian blade intersected the woman's head perpendicular to the bridge of her nose. Glass shattered against her skull and shards embedded themselves into her face deep enough to pierce brain tissue.

The final member of the trio looked fearfully at Boshihari, backing up into the wall. It was for naught as black glass replaced her shattered blade, forming a spearhead which she shoved into the teen's gut, twisting harshly. She coughed up blood, then vomited more hemoglobin onto the ground, blood already draining from her face. "Wh-why?" She shakily asked.

The redhead looked at the dying girl. "Because family is everything to me. Your comrades tried to take my little brother for your master. I am removing a threat before it becomes a problem." She said and formed a dagger in her right hand of obsidian before slashing the girl's throat.

Turning on her heel, Boshihari never even looked back. She glanced at the door the three siblings had been guarding and ran her fingers over the iron door. Quickly making a decision, she studied the seal over it and pressed her right palm on the entrance. Pulsing chakra, she bore witness as her light blue energy traveled along the sloppy sealwork no doubt drawn by Orochimaru or another non-Uzumaki. Anything not created by her clan in this art was less than perfect, no matter how skilled the user thought they were.

Her chakra stopped at one intersection of symbols and with a smirk, she focused and used the mixture of her spiritual and physical energy to create an infinitesimal gap in the seal, a single point that broke the entire matrix down.

Such arrogance. Thinking that fail-safes were unnecessary in a prison seal. Assuming someone with knowledge of the most underestimated of the five ninja arts wouldn't come along. This seal screamed of Orochimaru's handiwork. The snakes of the Hebi clan always believed nothing could kill them.

A Whirlpool of destruction swept everything in its currents, dragging even the most adept swimmers though.

Pushing open the door, Boshihari admitted she was surprised at the sight.

The occupant wasn't dangerous, had barely above average reserves, no detectable bloodline and actually cowered into the corner. Three guards seemed strange for this girl, maybe only fourteen or fifteen years old. Her purple hair was in a disheveled, poorly maintained pineapple ponytail commonly used among Konoha shinobi. Pupilless brown eyes were filled with terror as they saw someone walk in. Those full lips quivered and pale, unblemished flesh grew goosebumps. She wore a black top with elbow-length sleeves frayed on the end and bloodstained, a burnt orange skirt that was cut at the hem so it resembled a mini-skirt instead and, of all things, she wore a tattered Konohagakure hitai-ite around her forehead.

"P-please... I won't struggle, I promise. J-just be quick." Boshihari took in the girl's appearance, combined with her statement and clenched her fist.

The redhead approached the girl, watching as she shrunk back more in the corner, eying her closed hand. Noting that reaction, the Uzumaki woman unclenched her fist and knelt beside the girl, looking her over. This caused the already terrified girl to exude primal fear. "I won't hurt you. My name is Boshihari, what is yours?" She said softly.

The girl looked at her suspiciously but swallowed. "M-mitarashi Anko." She stuttered out. Boshihari smiled slightly at her.

"Anko-chan, why are you here?" She asked and the girl turned her head, mumbling something. "Could you say that again?"

"I... d-don't remember. I can't remember anything but my name." Boshihari hummed in thought and placed a hand on her shoulder, making the girl flinch slightly. The redhead didn't move her hand though and frowned to herself as her sensory skills gave her more information about the young kunoichi.

She had a block on her chakra and a taint over her network, both caused by the Juin on her neck. She held a Summons Contract as well. All Contracts set an imprint upon the Summoners chakra as a warning to other Summons so one person couldn't sign multiple Contracts of enemy Summons. This particular imprint was one she had felt on only one clan in her whole life, the Hebi clan. She was a Snake Summoner.

The most logical conclusion was of course that this girl was Orochimaru's apprentice and he experimented on her after leaving the village. That Juin must have blocked her memories as well, though some would likely resurface at a later date, slowly as the Cursed Seal lost strength.

The question was of course, 'Why is she still living?'. Wouldn't it make sense to kill her off since she was probably useless to him now? There was only one way to find out, really. And it would serve more than that purpose, many purposes she needed fulfilled right now.

"Would you like to leave this place?" She asked. Anko's eyes widened.

"R-really?" She asked. Boshihari nodded and stood up, offering her hand. The paler girl looked at it skeptically before taking it and standing with Boshihari's help.

"Stay close to me. I'm going to finish what I started here and then we'll leave." Anko nodded a single time and they walked out of the door. As soon as they did, the teen's eyes bulged upon the sight of the three corpses.

"What... happened?" She asked as she saw one beheaded, one with a glass covered face and one pinned to the wall by a spear and sporting a split throat, blood pooling her feet. Boshihari walked away from them and spoke a single word.

"Me."

Anko gulped and quickly caught up to the robed cyclops, staying a step behind and to her left. "I won't lie, Anko-chan. I'm going to slaughter every shinobi working for Orochimaru that is here. It will be gruesome to witness what I will do, but that is the way of shinobi. We are killers."

"H-hai. Sh-should I help?" Anko asked. Boshihari shook her head.

"You would, no offence, get in my way. It is not that I don't believe you're strong, but I will be fighting on a level you are unable to mimic and if I have to watch out for you, it may be the very moment I could've delivered a death stroke."

"I understand." Anko nodded. "Why... are you killing them?" Boshihari stopped, making her new charge halt as well as she watched a group of Otogakure shinobi surrounding a quintet of experiments. Somehow they had escaped and the guards were trying to subdue them.

"A group of them tried to capture my student and me. He is the only family I have, practically my younger brother. So I am simply going to rid the world of this threat to him. One less thing he has to fight."

Anko nodded in understanding, watching the quintet and the twenty shinobi, all coated in those black marking from the Cursed Seal. The five didn't have the markings. One of them, a woman with dirty blonde hair tied in a loose ponytail, rose her hands and pulled them over her chest crossed with fists above each shoulder. In response, two doors to cells on either side of the groups flew forward and crashed into earthen walls two of the Oto shinobi rose in protection.

Another of the five experiments acted, this one was a raven-haired boy about Anko's age who inhaled and then exhaled a deep black cloud of ashes, all without handseals, which two of the unprepared shinobi fell victim to. Deep coughing was heard as they breathed said ash in their lungs.

**"Water Style: Aquarius Trumpet!" **One of the Oto nin shouted and formed a circle with her thumb and forefinger, spewing out liters upon liters of water that soaked into the ashes and forced them to the ground.

Her counter was short-lived as a third experiment, a man covered in a black trench coat, completely buttoned and wearing slim shades over his eyes placed his palm to the ground, the limb disappearing underground before a gigantic version of a roach's limb rose from the cement not far away and stabbed through three more of the 'guards'.

With a quarter gone, the fourth one, another woman, finally acted. She wore a breathing mask over her face and had tomboyish looks with her short, black hair and doctor uniform. Removing the mask, she simply exhaled and a visible miasma of bacteria were released to infect two kunoichi - one which fired the water jutsu moments prior. They fell to the floor nearly instantly, bulbous sores coating their arms, black patches coating their faces and their feet becoming swollen with pus that exploded everywhere as the pressure became too much for flesh to contain.

The barely dozen left were ready to retreat before the final experiment tilted its head. It was the only word to describe the thing as off-white hair dropped over its face while above it was bulbous like a mushroom's cap. The experiment wore an all white jumpsuit, gloves and boots of the same color its hair was. Its right hand's fingers elongated into root-like appendages and dug into the ground.

The remaining guards became terrified as patches of mushrooms surrounded each one, growing enormous in moments, spores scattering in the center of each grove where they were located. Immediately, the spores made them scream as they touched flesh, beginning a process which decomposed them at hyperspeed rates, rotting them completely in seconds.

Anko saw the older woman pull something from her robe... A mask. It was white with beady black eyes and a wide grin showcasing sharp fangs for teeth. Grabbing Anko's shoulder, Boshihari wore it, uttering a word. **"Specter..."**

Immediately the two lost physical form as well as visibility. _"We are leaving." _Boshihari's voice was muffled and distorted by the mask to sound like nails grinding down a chalkboard to make words. Anko nodded, very much scared of the experiments' slaughter. She felt the floor disappear from her feeling and looked down, surprised they were levitating.

Boshihari guiding their gliding with her will, forcing them back along the previous path, back around the corner, back to the entrance and back to the outside. She took the mask off, looked at the pale girl whom she had saved for selfish purposes and decided to take advantage of her vulnerability.

"Anko, listen to me." She looked up at the Uzumaki. "You have two choices. Either you can leave on your own right now, alone in the world and hope you are safe..." Anko stepped back, horror and betrayal written on her face. "Or you can make me a promise and stay with me as my student."

"Wh-what?" Anko asked.

"You will promise me to protect my little brother with your life, to keep him safe. I will, in exchange, teach you how to protect yourself, help you regain your memories and rid you of that Juin on your neck. My training will be harsh, our travels expansive and the journey filled with dangers, but you will become strong. You will also be sure I will keep you safe until you can protect yourself."

I... I p-promise." Anko said. "I will keep him safe, Boshihari-sensei." She bowed her head in submission and the redhead allowed herself a small smirk. She did feel a bit guilty for doing that, but Naruto had to come first. He was her family.

And an Uzumaki cherished family above all else.


	8. Chapter VII

**Born of Obsidian**

**Chapter VII:**

Naruto, Karin and Hibiki were still in their same positions as an explosion shook the base. Each of the children fell and shakily recovered their bearings. Hibiki didn't understand what happened but both Karin and Naruto had felt the source of those tremors.

"Someone's very angry..."

"That chakra was monstrous..."

The cousins spoke at once, surprised at the fact that someone else could feel that. Besides Boshihari, Naruto hadn't ever met another sensor-type and Karin thought her ability to sense chakra was unique to her.

"W-we should g-go." Hibiki said and the redheads nodded immediately. Karin and Hibiki were at Naruto's side, Karin in between the newcomer and her little sister-figure. The trio made their way out, Karin whispering lowly so only Naruto could hear.

"I don't know who you are, or if you really are from my clan, but if you hurt Biki-chan..." Naruto showed no outward reaction, keeping eyes on the path in front of them as he spoke softly, surprising Karin at the pain in his voice.

"Family is the only reason I would kill another. If someone poses a threat to my blood, I have to make sure they stay safe. As it stands the only person Hibi-chan poses a threat to is herself."

The spectacled Uzumaki glanced to the albino then back to her 'cousin'. "And me?" She asked, noticing his sudden grin.

"Well, you're family of course!" Was his reply as they turned the corner and arrived at the door. Rushing outside, Naruto saw Boshihari with a teenage girl at her side, both seemingly waiting for him.

"Well, seems I wasn't the only one to find new friends, eh Naruto-chan?" Boshihari asked as she saw the two girls. "Who are these?"

Naruto looked at them, seeing Hibiki shrink back behind him and Karin while the redhead looked at Boshihari suspiciously. "Well, this is Hibiki-chan." Naruto said as he smiled to her.

"H-hello." Hibiki said shyly from behind the redhead duo.

"And she's Karin." He continued.

"I am Boshihari." The ex-monk stated. "And this here is Mitarashi Anko." The purple-haired girl looked at the trio then back to Boshihari. Quickly putting on a confident smile she didn't feel like belonged there, she smirked at them.

"So, this gaki is Naruto?" She asked.

"Do not let his looks fool you, Anko-chan. He is extremely strong." The cycloptic woman warned her newest student. "With your memories blocked, I'm quite sure he could defeat you."

Naruto scratched his head and grinned sheepishly. "I don't know. She might have some secret ability. The other experiments in there seemed really strong." Faster than he could blink, Boshihari was at his side, looking him over.

"Were you hurt?" She asked. "Tell me, I don't too much in the way of medical chakra skills but a seal could..."

"I'm fine, Boshi-nee!" Naruto told her. "I only had to fight one and thanks to Biki-chan, I stayed safe. Her Kouton summoned a steel wall to save my life from this giant beast who could absorb chakra. But I took him down after I pulled out Wabisuke."

Her lone eye looked over him one more time before she stood. "Of course you are... I shouldn't have worried. You are strong after all."

"Well, I have an amazing sensei!" He pointed out with a cheerful grin. Boshihari looked at the two girls Naruto brought.

"By Naruto's description, you are a Koutetsu?" She asked Hibiki, who nodded, though shrinking under Boshihari's focused gaze. "And you are an Uzumaki?" She asked Karin.

"How did you know?" Karin asked.

"By your hair and eyes, that's the only clan you could be from. I'm unsure of which branch as of yet, but you're still family. I will offer you the same choice as Anko-chan here. Either you go alone or you travel with Naruto and me. If you come along, I'll do my best to train you to protect yourself."

Karin glanced to Hibiki who nodded vigorously. She wondered why, but she would just ask her later. Looking back at Boshihari, Karin gave her assent. "Hai. We will go with you, Boshihari-sensei."

Naruto smiled wide. "That's great!" Hibiki couldn't help but be infected by his enthusiasm and smiled a little while Karin and Anko just looked at the two. Boshihari looked at the base instead.

"How knowledgable are you two on the experiments inside?" She asked Karin and Hibiki.

"Just the ones on our side." Karin told the woman. "The other side was reserved for the worse prisoners since those seals were a bit stronger. Why?"

"Five escaped and killed all the Otogakure shinobi of that side. The exhibited skills that intrigue me. One could control the iron doors, possibly Jiton but maybe something else. Another created an ash cloud without handseals. A third one placed his hand on the floor and it sunk inside, a roach's appendage materializing further in the hallway and killing some. Yet another removed her mask and breathed out a miasma of bacteria that infected two with a disease I have no knowledge of. The final one spawned large mushrooms which caused humans to rot inside out just from contact with the spores."

The children had fear in their eyes. "That's amazing." Naruto said. "They must've caused the explosion and escaped out a wall." He said.

"That is my belief." Boshihari commented. "Their signatures are heading east, so we shall go west." As she began walking away, the four younger students caught up with her.

Naruto stood next to Boshihari and heard her voice hit his ears in the form of a question. "You said you defeated a giant who could absorb chakra and I see you saved these two, but what of other experiments on that side?"

"Well, Hibiki-chan knew who they were. When I saved one she called Yami, we felt a rush of wind pass us by. Senkou Yami has the ability to travel at superhuman speeds apparently. The other, one named Reika, disappeared before I opened the door. Her ability is to turn invisible, silent and intangible for short periods. Those were the only others though."

Boshihari nodded. "I see. They saw an escape opportunity just as those other five did and took it, though in a noticeably less violent way."

"Yeah, guess so." Naruto replied. "I wouldn't want to be captured by this Orochimaru and made an experiment."

"Hai, it would be best if we found a way to rid the world of his existence at some point. We cut one of Orochi's heads today but unlike in Amaterasu's battle it is hard to tell where the next will be when we don't know how many we are facing."

The sole male of the group let his steps slow as he heard Hibiki call him. As the Koutetsu caught up, Karin at her side, she looked at him with a curious glint in her eyes. "Ano, do y-you know wh-what we'll be learning?" Naruto thought a moment, noting how Anko was still at the rear but also seemed interested.

"Well, first Boshi-nee will need to see your baselines. That's basically how strong you are to start with." Hibiki nodded. "Then we'll have to test for affinities and try to find a style suited to your personality. You're good with barriers and have Kouton, so your close-combat will be harder, but a long-range weapon wouldn't be that bad an idea. You'll probably learn mostly defensive ninjutsu. Problem is that Boshi-nee doesn't have a Raiton affinity for your Kouton."

"How do you know she has a Raiton affinity?" Karin asked.

Naruto smiled. "Two reasons. The first is that there are records of certain members of her clan marrying into ours and they told the clan what makes up the Kouton, even making scrolls for their descendants to use in order to learn Koutetsu clan techniques. Second is... her chakra pool feels aligned to Katon, Doton and Raiton. Katon makes someone's tenketsu feel warm or hot, depending on the strength of the affinity. Doton makes tenketsu feel... solid is the only word I can think of, hard and unmovable. Raiton tenketsu almost seem to vibrate at a high frequency.

"When someone is born with a bloodline though, their tenketsu naturally are able to have two or three qualities. Take me for example. I've got a natural Glass Release so if you feel my tenketsu..."

Karin held the ram seal and focused on Naruto's individual chakra points and nodded. "They're hot... solid and... the last one feels strange, almost like a liquid. How can one tenketsu feel both solid and like a liquid at the same time?"

"Boshi-nee explained it sort of like how in an aquarium their is water but it is held inside a solid tank. The shell is solid, but inside it's liquid." Naruto told her. "But the point is, my chakra is naturally aligned to glass, so much so that..." He held out his hand and channeled chakra, making obsidian form into a compact ball. "Just channeling chakra can make obsidian constructs. It's harder to use kekkai genkai, but still pretty simple. I have to basically change the nature of one of the elements into equal parts of the other two."

As the girls watched, they saw the glass ball rise as a wooden stand for the sphere formed. "By changing the fire jn my tenketsu to half water and half earth, I can make wood." Then black fire coated the whole thing. "By the same principle, I can change the other two - water and earth - to Yin chakra and then I create Enton."

The fire consumed the glass and wood, and he shrugged. "Boshi-nee can actually use four total kekkai touta. She has Glass as well and three others thanks to her Yang affinity. By replacing Fire with Yang, she gets Flora, by replacing Earth, she gets Acid and by replacing Water she gets Rubber."

"Wouldn't that mean touta are easier to channel?" Anko wondered, finally coming into the conversation.

"She says so. I haven't actually gotten any training with touta other than Haton, but I have a few genkai like Blaze, Wood, Lava and Boil." He informed her. "I'm more interested in mastering lower-leveled elemental release manipulation first." He held out his hand and fire coated his knuckles. "Boshi-nee says I have an unnatural obsession with nintaijutsu, but I need some way to make my hits pack a punch since the Uzumaki bloodline prevents me from bulking up."

Hibiki looked at his hand, still aflame. "I d-don't th-think that's f-for me. I j-just want to b-be able to pr-protect my friends and f-find my f-family." Naruro tilted his head a bit, snuffing out the flames with a bit of water chakra.

"Family?" She nodded and looked to Karin. The redhead sighed.

"Well, you see, Hibiki isn't actually my sister."

"I kind of guessed that." Naruto said. "You guys don't share any affinities. Your chakra feels a lot different than hers and people of the same clan feel similar, not even counting siblings."

"Well, the Koutetsu clan has a very... traditional view. Despite Hibiki being born into the Head family, she was seen as a disgrace."

"M-my kaa-san a-accidentally tr-trapped herself in a-an illusion." Hibiki spoke up. "S-so my tou-san t-took over the c-clan de-despite being a m-man. W-we're a matriarchal c-clan. H-he didn-t w-want to give u-up his power though."

Naruto nodded. "Sounds like your normal, everyday, power hungry maniac, no offense."

"It's o-okay. The o-oldest of us i-is my s-sister U-Unari. E-even though s-she w-was born w-with a weak b-body and unable t-to use the K-kouton she m-made ANBU co-Commander at the age o-of e-eleven with h-her M-mercury R-release. Th-then there was th-the second d-daughter, Kogane. Sh-she was b-both albino a-and unable to use t-the K-kouton, i-instead getting th-the R-radiation R-release because o-of a h-high affinity to Y-yang and F-fire. My t-twin br-brother G-gin and I were last. I can o-only use d-defensive jutsu b-but Gin w-was born n-not only perf-perfectly healthy b-but with the M-metal R-release, a h-higher form o-of the Kouton."

"I thought albinism was only more common to families that-"

"Practice inbreeding?" Karin asked. "The Koutetsu do, some members are too proud to marry anyone but one of their own." She paused, gathering her thoughts. "Albinism is also highly dishonorable to the parents, so Hibiki and Kogane were taken to the edge of Rai no Kuni and left there, found by Orochimaru and separated. Kogane went to one base and Hibiki went to the prison in the same cell as me. That was about a year ago."

Naruto nodded, looking forward. "That's harsh. I can't imagine going back to being without Boshi-nee." He told them.

"She's not really your older sister?" Hibiki asked, keeping the stutter out somehow.

"No. I met Boshi-nee on my fourth birthday." He told them. "I was chased, beaten, let go, chased again, beaten again and released again. It went on for hours. They called it a hunt. That morning the matriarch kicked me out of the orphanage and that was when the first sake bottle was thrown at my head.

"I ran but they caught me within minutes before ganging up on me and beating me with sticks, fists and their feet. Then they let me go and wanted to see who could 'catch the fox first this time'. After the whole day, I finally reached a forest and they stopped. Eventually I found a temple and passed out inside.

"When I finally woke up, Boshi-nee told me I could leave with her and I agreed since she was the first family I ever met." He smiled. "That was four and a half years ago. I never have and never will regret my decision to do what I did. I've become stronger and I even got to meet my cousin and her little sister, my first friend."

He grinned to the two and noticed Hibiki's smile and small blush as well as Karin's look of surprise. "Boshihari taught me something. Nothing is more important than family. When you find someone whose love for you is inherent and unconditional, protect them with your life, live for those bonds and you will have no regrets."

"Do you believe that?" Karin asked, curiosity behind her slim glasses. Naruto hummed in thought.

"It's been true so far. I think that maybe it's wrong though. I do believe that you should always protect family, but I felt no regret at protecting Biki-chan. I guess that means that if you protect friends too then you have no regrets." He thought a moment more. "Yeah. If you protect people precious to you, then you become stronger for it." He finally said. "And Hibiki and you are precious to me, Karin-chan."


	9. Chapter VIII

**Born of Obsidian**

**Hey all! Orph here!**

**Finally got some Obsidian done! I do believe you'll enjoy this arc very much, I hope so anyways. I won't reveal too much, but here you go!**

**Chapter VIII**

"Are you sure about this, Boshi-nee?" Naruto asked as he looked at his three fellow students. Boshihari studied the trio of kunoichi and nodded.

"Eight months seems like plenty of time." She explained. "Your first field exam was eight months, if I recall correctly. I won't require any sort of fight, but they do need to be able to think on their feet. What do you think, Naruto-chan?"

The younger redhead sighed. "Probably a test of what they've learned so far, but while Anko-chan has learned rapidly since you removed her Juin, Karin-chan and Biki-chan haven't done much in terms of combat training."

"Quite." She looked at her first student and then back to the three who were performing control exercises atop a lake. Anko was going through katas of the Hebi taijutsu style, Karin was practicing Suiton shape manipulation and Hibiki was still trying to learn water walking without sinking. The Koutetsu were infamous for having heavy bodies due to an aspect of their bloodline entitled "Atomic Steel Bones".

As scrolls of her clan explained it, it seemed a Koutetsu's skeletal structure was encased in steel, giving them tougher defenses, superhuman strength and slower speed. The problem was, it seemed Hibiki had not gained such an aspect since she needed gravity seals on her gauntlets and also the giant shuriken she had taken to carrying on her back to act as ranged weapons, connected to her gauntlets by ninja wire barbed with spikes.

"What do you propose, Naruto-chan?" He thought a moment.

"The Field Exam is meant to test their abilities so you know what lessons to teach next, right?" He asked, which Boshihari nodded to. "Well their styles are different than mine. Anko-chan is a fighter like me, but Hibiki-chan is support while Karin-chan is a medic. A spar would help you see Anko-chan's weak points, but the other two need something else."

Boshihari nodded. "Quite perceptive, Naruto-chan. The very reason I, myself, was having trouble in figuring out how to test their skills. However, it came to me quite suddenly just a day ago. There is no true way to test a medic and support-type unless in a mission situation where their skills are needed." Naruto took the opportunity to look at her.

"You have a new mission for us?" He asked. Boshihari nodded and looked up at the sky, seeing it was getting closer to noon.

"Hai. Something very simple." She reached in her robe and pulled out a Bingo Book, handing it to Naruto. "Page 27, second entry." She told him.

Naruto did as he was told and flipped to the corresponding page, one for missing-nin of the Hidden Hive Village in the Land of Honey. There were only three entries total for Subakogakure no Sato. Despite her instructions, Naruto glanced at the name of the first, Kamenhime.

Looking at the second entry, he saw a headshot of a man, probably mid or late twenties. He had messy, unkempt black hair, a green left eye while the right had an eyepatch over it and a cruel smirk. He began reading the entry.

_Feajuuryou Kizanda, ex-Tokubetsu Jounin of Subakugakure no Sato. Kizanda was one of the foremost kenjutsu users of Subakogakure before killing a distinguished member of Subaku's only clan, the Horonigai, in a heated dispute. Following such an act, he took off from the village._

_Skills: Kizanda's kenjutsu is his foremost skill, holding a high A-rank with his katana. Besides his ability to wield it effectively on its own, he has also used his affinity to Suiton to develop a style of ninkenjutsu which can devastate even Doton users. The only other notable aspects of his style are his B-rank ninjutsu and C-rank taijutsu - a style mainly utilizing his feet so his hands can remain on his blade._

_Known Jutsu: Replacement, Body Flicker, Clone, Water Style: Gunshot, Water Style: Water Trumpet, Water Style: Water Clone, Water Style: Water Shuriken, Ninkenjutsu: Water God Slicer, Ninkenjutsu: High Pressure_

_Other Info: Warning, Kizanda's katana is enhanced by the sword collector Horonigai Kamenhime - its former owner - to have unnatural sharpness able to slice through even trees and boulders. This sharpness extends to the water natured chakra channeled through it. Approach with extreme caution._

Naruto looked up at Boshihari, wide-eyed. "You want them to fight this guy? Karin and Hibiki would be useful support, but Anko as the only forward fighter could not take him on. I admit that she is stronger than me now that she's regained some of her memories, but she's high C, low B-rank at best. Kizanda sounds more like low to mid A rank than just high B rank. It's a wonder he wasn't already promoted to Jounin."

Boshihari smirked. "I didn't say they were going alone. Anko-chan will lead, you are second and the other two are support." She explained. "I've tracked Kizanda down to a village outside Takigakure just five kilometers from our current location. Understand?" Naruto looked at her and smirked, nodding.

"I very much do." He replied while seals appeared around his waist and back, materializing two sealed zanpakutou in an X-formation on his back while the remaining two hung from his right hip. "If things go sour..."

"What do you think you've been training for?" Boshihari inquired, causing a scene to playback in Naruto's memory.

**[Reverse Timeskip, Six Months Ago]**

"Today we will be going over a new subject I haven't covered yet, Naruto-chan." Boshihari explained as the two sat across from another. Anko was tasked with teaching Hibiki and Karin about storage seals right now so she could have this private lesson with him. A lesson which was long in coming.

"Hai, onee-sama." He nodded, giving her his rapt attention.

She rolled out a scroll which held seals all over it. Touching a specific one, Boshihari triggered it. A three-dimension hologram rose up of nine monsters towering over ninja. "Ninja and Summons are not the only beings capable of utilizing chakra. There is a third group which are made entirely of a strange chakra we can only label Youkai, Demon Energy. These are the bijuu."

She tapped another point and that hologram closed, another rising up to show some sort of jar with the kanji for seal on the lid and wrapped in chains to keep it shut tight. "These beings, like all chakra, can be sealed. The immensity of their energy makes it much harder though. Up until a century ago, they roamed the Earth and wreaked havok wherever they went, as they chose."

The next hologram showed a still frame of a four-tailed beast resembling an ape with tusks held down by many red torii. "Then my father and mother did something no one before or since has done. My father used his Sage Art: Gracious Deity Gates to restrict the bijuu while she sealed them in jars, except the Kyuubi which was already sealed before then. Following that, a Kage Summit was held and treaties made. One of which split the bijuu among six villages. Sunagakure already had the Ichibi, a sand tanuki, so they recoeved no others and Konohagakure claimed the Kyuubi, a yoko. Besides that, Kumogakure received the Nibi and Hachibi, a nekomata and bull-octopus respectively. Iwagakure was given the Yonbi and Gobi, the former being an ape while the latter is a dolphin-horse. Kirigakure obtained the Sanbi and Rokubi, a tortoise and Slug. Finally, the Nanabi, a horned beetle, went to Takigakure."

With each statement, a separate hologram materialized until all nine bijuu were shown above the scroll. Naruto looked at them and frowned. "Why would the villages want the threat of one escaping and attacking them? It doesn't make sense." Boshihari nodded.

"If they had to remain in jars, it would. But they could be sealed into other things as well. One such object is called a jinchuuriki, a term my okaa-sama coined."

"Human sacrifice?" Naruto asked. Then it hit him like a ton of bricks. "They were sealed in humans?" He wondered with wide eyes.

"Correct. The first in this era of hidden villages was my okaa-sama, the Shodai Kyuubi no Jinchuuriki." She explained. "Jinchuuriki are gifted with extremely high chakra reserves thanks to the bijuu held within, certain abilities depending on which bijuu was sealed inside and other perks. They are often persecuted or isolated within the village, though. Villagers with grudges against the bijuu transfer that hatred to the container."

Naruto frowned. "That seems idiotic. Just because you seal a kunai in a scroll doesn't make the scroll the kunai."

"True, but while fuinjutsu follows certain rules and laws of logic, human nature and psychology often does not. Jinchuuriki, over the generations, became both a village's greatest weapon and greatest fear. Even in Kirigakure, where the current Mizukage is the Sanbi jinchuuriki, he is feared. Even in Kumogakure, where both the Nibi no Jinchuuriki and Hachibi no Jinchuuriki are highly respected, they are isolated by normal citizens. Two of the jinchuuriki are actually missing-nin because of what the hatred has done to them, the Yonbi and Rokubi prisons."

"It seems like they should he respected for being able to hold back the bijuu though." Naruto pointed out. "That's such a horrible burden." Boshihari nodded.

"The worst is the Kyuubi no Jinchuuriki. The fox's chakra is so perilous that only one clan can possibly hold it. My mother was the first and after her was an Uzumaki princess who only survived our clan's massacre because she was in Konoha to have the Kyuubi transferred to her. This girl grew up as the only Uzumaki in the village, passing the burden she carried to her only child on the same day she died because the beast escaped."

Naruto looked at Boshihari with wide eyes, understanding immediately. Remaining composed, he matched his eyes to her own and spoke. "It is me." He didn't ask, merely commented. "That is why they hated me."

"Yes, Naruto-chan. I had hoped to keep you innocent longer, but as tomorrow is the ninth anniversary of the nine-tails being sealed inside you, I thought it best that you finally learn. By the same principle, you need to learn to control your youkai and there are few that could help you. Being the daughter of a Kyuubi jinchuuriki I can help somewhat, though my youkai pool only reaches four tails."

"Hai, onee-sama." He replied. "I will be ready for training." Boshihari trained her single eye on him and smiled, taking his hands in her own.

"Your mother had a theory on jinchuuriki. In order to cancel out a bijuu's negative chakra, they had to fill their heart with love. You will need to be surrounded by people who will support and love you if you want to stay yourself and not be manipulated by the Kyuubi. Every step, I swear to do just that. I will protect and train you, Naruto-chan... my imouto." Naruto looked at her and smiled back, leaping into her body, hugging her tightly.

"I love you, Boshihari-nee." He whispered.

"I love you too, Naruto-otouto."

**[Present]**

"You're right, onee-sama. I only have control over Reibi Mode, but I shouldn't need more than that if Anko-chan is with me. Especially since Biki-chan and Karin-chan are on support. When do we leave?"

"After lunch. I'll debrief the others on our way there and leave it to you four. If something goes wrong, you know how to create a chakra pulse." Naruto nodded. "I will answer immediately and help your team."

"Hai, Boshi-nee."

**[Forest Outside Misaka Village]**

"That's him." Karin said. "His chakra feels highly attuned to Suiton and just below Jounin level, there's a sword next to him and he matches the picture." The man the Uzumaki sensor spoke of was sitting on a log in front of a fire within what the quartet could only assume was his campsite.

"It would be nice if we were in front of that fire instead..." Anko mumbled before taking a bite of dango, holding the toothpick like a senbon as she munched on it.

"Just use Katon chakra to warm up, Anko-chan." Naruto said off-handedly while he focused on making handseals for his pre-emptive strike. "Remember the plan. Anko and me down there, Hibiki protect us and Karin provide ranged support as well as medical aid if necessary."

"H-hai, niichan!"

"Yeah, Naruto-kun."

"Course, gaki!"

Naruto finally finished on a tiger seal and inhaled. **"Water Style: Water Dragon Missile Jutsu!" **He exclaimed on that forty-fourth seal before a dragon of water shot out from his mouth and barreled right at the nukenin.

As it hit the ground and a large splash put out the fire, Karin shut her eyes, focusing. "It missed. He used a replacement at the last moment." Frowning, she formed a ram seal before opening her eyes. "Behind you, Naruto-kun!"

Immediately, Naruto unsheathed one of his swords and blocked a slash from Kizanda, spying the smirk on his lips. "Take more than that to take me out, gaki." He said and pulled back, aiming another slash that Naruto barely blocked, then another immediately afterward that opened a gash in his side, forcing him to jump back, holding his side.

Kizanda went to lunge, but jumped back as a flaming toothpick nearly slammed into his neck. "Aw... Now I feel bad. Don't even notice a girl?" Anko asked. "And here I was hoping to have some fun too." Kizanda glanced up and down Anko's body. She wore an orangish-brown vest over a fishnet shirt, tight against her upper body and easily showing off her growing assets while she wore a burnt orange mini-skirt, fishnet stockings and brown sandals, a tan trench coat to her ankles over everything.

Kizanda set his sword on his shoulder. "I'm sure I could show you some... 'fun'." Anko gave a little, teasing half-smile.

"Oh? Well, maybe another time?" She replied even as a kunai appeared in either hand and she shot forward, fast enough that he barely dodged her scissor slice by spinning. He tried to lunge at her from behind, but it was simple work for her to backflip over the blade and kick him in the back.

Kizanda wrapped his blade in water and swung, forming a water whip that grabbed a branch, allowing him to swing back up to the same branch, foot out ready to hit Anko. She remained unmoving even as a gry slat rose from the oak. **"Steel S-style: Steel E-encampment Wall Jutsu!" **Using chakra to stick to it, Kizanda ran up the construct and dove at Anko, tip aimed at her throat.

**"Fire Style: Grand Fireball!" **Anko spat a ball of orangish fire right at him, but it was nothing for him to materialize a water shell and slash through the Katon ninjutsu. Seeing the failed jutsu, Anko rolled backwards, away from the katana's point and regained her footing in time to hold her hands out, smirking. **"Hidden Shadow Snakes!" **

Several serpents shot out from her trench coat, all aiming for Kizanda. He grinned wide and held his katana as he stood in place. Two shot out at him from the left, but lost their heads in an instant, the next instant three on the right died and the final one that tried to get him from the front was kicked in the side before being stabbed through with the sharp blade.

"Join in any time, Naruto-kun!" Anko yelled before releasing a salvo of flaming needles at the swordsman, thankful for the Katon training Boshihari had provided. Kizanda simply knocked the senbon away with his blade, smirking wide.

"The boy won't be getting up from that hit." He pointed out. Kizanda suddenly jumped back though and in his place several black shuriken were embedded in the wood. He looked up and saw Naruto standing on a branch, not very happy.

"That hurt, Kizanda-san. Usually, I prefer to leave Wabisuke as a final resort, but I'll make an exception." Pulling out on of the katana on his hip, Naruto dove at his opponent. **"Raise your head, Wabisuke!" **The tip began to bend before his hooked blade formed in time to hit Kizanda's raised katana.

"A zanpakutou?" Kizanda asked. "Just like Kamenhime-sama..."

Naruto frowned and jumped back. "Who is Kamenhime?" Kizanda smirked and flourished his blade before knocking away several shuriken and kunai sent by both Anko and Naruto.

"The greatest kunoichi to ever come out of Subakogakure and former clan head of the Horonigai. She loves swords, the rarer the better. Most of all, she collects zanpakutou of deceased wielders. She left Subako with her apprentice to expand her collection, of course."

Naruto engulfed his released zanpakutou in black flames before rushing forward, slashing to release them right at him. Kizanda disappeared in a swirl of honey before reappearing by Anko, only a chain pulling her towards Karin's direction keeping her safe.

"What can your Shikai do, young Uzumaki?" Kizanda wondered as he wrapped his blade in water. "I never met Kamenhime-sama, but she revealed to my sensei the workings of your clan's zanpakutou. So, what can it do?" He suddenly slashed, an arc of cutting water shooting out. **"Water Style: Water God Slicer!" **

A steel wall rose up to block it, but Naruto still took the opportunity to hop to a different branch. The decision was wise, seeing how the wave sliced clean through the steel construct. That did not bode well. **"Lava Style: Melting Apparition!" **He shouted, spewing a large cloud of molten syrup above Kizanda.

Quick reflexes allowed the nukenin to drop down and use another water whip to hop to another branch. As soon as he landed, one-handed seals allowed him to quickly trigger a ninjutsu. **"Water Style: Gunshot!" **

Instead of dodging, Naruto stayed put and channeled chakra into the blue crystal around his neck and the ring on his finger. As the water reached him, he shot his palm out and it stopped, coating his hand like a gauntlet. Kizanda's eyes widened at the example of Suiton manipulation. "I'm an Uzumaki, water is perhaps the worst element to use against me." He pointed out before pulling out Yoko and placing it over his face, gripping Wabisuke as black flames surrounded it.

Six ethereal tail materialized behind Naruto, two drawing his zanpakutou on his back while sealing matrices unsealed a naginata, ninjatou, spear and tantou that theuy gripped. His other hand drew the remaining zanpakutou. Black flames coated the rest of the blades as well as he crouched, blue eyes flickering to crimson with slit pupils.

**"Blaze Style..." **He suddenly shot forward hard enough to snap the thick branch he stood on in half, spinning in midair to become a drill of blazing osmium as his tails pointed forward. **"Phoenix Twister!" **And suddenly the black became white-hot instead, too fast to dodge as the flames and spinning metal tore through flesh as easy as hot metal through butter... or flesh for that matter.

Kizanda let out a scream as his top and bottom halves separated, sword flying through the air until a seal of water formed to capture it. Naruto, himself, landed on a branch and resealed all but his zanpakutou, smirking as he sheathed them before taking Yoko off and putting it back in his robe.

Before he could celebrate, Naruto felt a chakra spike and saw Anko, Hibiki and Karin hopping through the trees from a woman launching purple waves at them. A woman in a black cloak covered in red clouds.


	10. Chapter IX

**Born of Obsidian**

**Heya! Orph here once more! I don't have anything to say, so enjoy!**

**Chapter IX**

Boshihari watched as Naruto pulled his Yoko mask over his face and smirked. While it was true she wanted to test her other three students, she really wanted to give Naruto another test as well. This method allowed her to do both at once. From her perspective, Karin and Hibiki were excellent support, just in need of an expanded repetoire and some combat training, really. Anko was skilled since she had regained some memories, her experience and overall skill making her already Tokubetsu Jounin level or nearly so.

Naruto was doing rather well, too. Between all the skills that created his style, he was able to take on stronger enemies if he had minimal support. He did rely on those artifacts quite a bit though so maybe she should start training him in fighting without Yoko or with a separate mask maybe.

Boshihari jumped back to a different branch suddenly as a bolt of lightning nearly struck her, obsidian naginata already formed in hand with sealwork covering the whole pole. Sensing the origin of the lightning, she spotted a man in a black cloak and red clouds wearing a hat and mask so only his strange eyes - red and green - showed. She knew this man from her father's stories of a would-be assassin. "Kuroito no Kakuzu..." She stated, calling him by the moniker he had gained from the black threads his Earth Grudge Fear supplied.

"I've wanted to take your bounty for a long time, Obsidian Goddess." He told her. "I may have lost to Hashirama, but not to you." Boshihari smirked, twirling her naginata.

"We'll see, Kakuzu. Otou-sama told me all about your style, so I'm prepared." Her lone eye narrowed as she focused on him. "I may not he as strong as him, but I'm plenty strong enough to defeat you." Kakuzu chuckled before he disappeared from sheer speed.

Boshihari spun quickly, dodging his fist and aiming a low kick at the back of his ankles in the same motion. The ancient man whose age trumped even her own flipped backwards over her foot before his right hand and arm became noticeably darker. Gravity brought him back down and he launched his fist right at her head.

She ducked under his body and pivoted on one foot, lunging with her naginata at his back instantly. Before he could even react, it stabbed him in the back and the blade shattered into multiple large shards. Boshihari was already back away from him with her oaken pole rematerializing a black blade to continue her assault.

Kakuzu glared at Boshihari as his arm returned to normal. "Lucky shot, Senjuu." He remarked while her smirk fell. "Struck a chord, did I?" He asked with a hidden smirk.

She gripped her naginata. "I am an Uzumaki, and I will beat that into you if need be." In a sudden burst of speed, she went to impale him again, only for threads to shoot out, forcing her to replace herself with a log and reappear on a branch away from him.

"You'll have to do better, Senjuu." He remarked even as he took off his cloak. Four masks on his back revealed themselves before becoming monsters made of black threads. One of the four immediately crumbled. "And as penance for destroying my Earth heart, I'll have to take yours."

**[With Naruto]**

**"Wood Release: Beaver's Dam!" **Naruto slammed his hand into the branch he stood on, forcing chakra through the tree and crafting a large wall of twigs, sticks and mud between the purple wave of water and his friends. Immediately after, he pulsed chakra into the tree again, materializing chains that grabbed Anko, Hibiki and Karin before pulling them to his branch.

He was extremely glad he did since as soon as the wave touched his dam, it began melting. "What happened?" He asked even as the cloaked woman turned to look at him from over twenty meters away.

"She attacked us right after you put on Yoko." Karin explained. "I felt her chakra spike, she's using a sub-element of water and Yang."

"Wave Release..." Naruto commented as the kunoichi began hopping towards them. "Weneed to stay up here then. That water she uses will be the only ammunition for her sub-element unless we are on the ground. On any surface that is flat and expansive, ground, lava, water, a mountainside, waves can be formed with a single pulse. On top of that, the Yang powers it up enough to crash through earth constructs. Apparently her water is also toxic enough to kill my Mokuton constructs."

"Karin, be on standby with your Healing Chains." Anko commanded. "Hibiki, spam your steel walls. Try to slow her down. Naruto, long-range support. Whatever poison in that is nothing next to Orochimaru's training." She smirked and dashed forward, disappearing in a burst of speed.

As the oldest of Boshihari's students dashed, Naruto stayed just a bit behind her. He finally got a good look at the opposing kunoichi's face. She had toxic green eyes without pupils, layered black hair and a blue hitai-ite with a scratch through the symbol of the Hidden Mist. On her back, she also had some sort of barrel, like an oil drum, strapped with a small hole at the top.

**"Wave Style: Toxic Tsunami!" **The woman shouted and purple water from her barrel shot up, forming into a nearly twenty meter wall of water, killing all organic matter that it touched before rushing at them.

Naruto used a shunshin to appear in front of Anko while molding water from the air into a complex seal array. **"Uzumaki Sealing Art: Storage-Barrier Dual Art: Parallel Absorption!" **A large mirror of water suddenly rose up between the wave and him, showing some sort of strange place made of black, block-like platforms devoid of anything. The wave hit the mirror and the reflection rippled, showing the water now in the strange place.

"What did you do?" The woman asked, standing on a branch just a few meters away. Naruto grinned, though internally tried to slow his heart. That seal was extremely complex and difficult to pull off using only water. Too many more and he might use up all the hydrogen and oxygen in the area.

"I crossed a level six barrier with a level eight storage seal to send your water to a storage pocket and contain it indefinitely." He explained. "A storage pocket only I can access." He looked at Anko, who nodded.

"I don't know who you are or why you attacked us, but we'll take you out even without sensei's aid!" She announced.

The woman smirked. "Yuuseigaku Nureta, at your service. And if you mean that redhead, Kakuzu-kun is taking care of her. He wants her bounty, I want some entertainment. It seems like he was right that her students would be strong." She rolled her shoulders before some more water came out and formed a construct behind her. **"Secret Technique: Guardian of the Tides!" **The water then shaped into a large golem just behind her wielding a trident in one hand, both fifty meters tall. "Let's see how strong."

**[Boshihari vs Kakuzu]**

**"Lightning Style: False Darkness!" **Boshihari backflipped from her branch as the salvo of sparking spears dug into where she just was. As soon as she landed, she jumped again due to a second mask's **"Wind Style: Pressure Damage!"**

Using chakra to stick to a tree, Boshihari jumped off to another, trying to dodge the **"Fire Style: Searing Rivalry!" **Kakuzu was simply watching with a smirk, letting his masked beasts do the work.

The redhead, meanwhile, held her naginata in two hands and began hopping around the close branches and trunks, looking for any sort of opening she could get while dodging fire, wind and lightning.

Seeing the wind mask once more before her, Boshihari gripped her naginata and threw it like a spear right at the thing, missing it by a few centimeters and embedding it into a tree. "A genin could've hit my mask!" Kakuzu taunted.

Boshihari ignored him even as the wind mask readied its jutsu. She jumped once more, but towards it instead of away, hand held out and glowing with chakra as a sealing circle appeared in the air. **"Uzumaki Sealing Art: Storage Art: Wind Sealing!"** She announced and the technique immediately was swallowed. The mask dove beneath her path, allowing her to land on her naginata.

She puffed put her cheeks then. **"Boil Style: Skilled Fog Bullets Jutsu!" **Immediately, several dozen bullets of steam shot out at the nearest mask, the fire one. Immediately, they began melting threads wherever they touched and the mask was no safer. Kakuzu could do nothing as a second heart fell to the woman.

"This, I will not allow!" He shouted before disappearing, reappearing above Boshihari with an ax kick aimed for her head. Boshihari let herself fall from the naginata and watch as his kick tore through the pole before shooting a chain out to grasp a branch and swing up to another.

Without even needing to look or hear the technique, Boshihari quickly performed a Replacement with the lightning mask to get away from the wind one's technique, destroying it rather well. Her eye made contact with Kakuzu's own then. "Three down, Kakuzu. Otou-sama was right, you are not a threat."

**[Naruto/Anko vs. Nureta]**

Naruto and Anko jumped away as several bullets of water barreled through the branch they had just been on. "She's relentless!" Anko commented, tiring of dodging the assault as they had for the last two minutes. Nureta kept her water golem's trident aimed on them while she smirked darkly.

"Quick, that's a good trait to have." She commented before her purple construct raised its left hand - the one without the trident - and nearly crashed it into them had they not jumped in opposite directions. "Come on, give me some entertainment. I need to see your strength."

Anko glared and performed a few handseals. "I'll show you my strength! **"Fire Style: Dragon Fire!" **She yelled as her fingers formed a circle in front of her mouth. Immediately, a stream of red flames shot out into the golem, coating the entire area in a deep mist.

Nureta smirked, glancing left and right in the blinding mist. "Not bad, girl. I didn't really train in the Hidden Mist Jutsu much since I never planned on being one of the Seven Swordsmen. Let me see..." She closed her eyes and channeled chakra into her ears. "Feel free to attack now. Orochimaru-kun taught me a little trick that will be useful here."

Something hit her ear and Nureta immediately opened her eyes, tilting her head as a green snake shot past her. "Oh? One of you is a Snake Summoner? That would be a useful Contract." She crossed her arms, making her avatar do the same. "You two might make wonderous additions."

"Additions to what?" A voice broke the silence, making Nureta jab in that direction with the trident. When she heard nothing, she assumed she had missed.

"Using the mist to hide your position... So much like Zabuza-kun. I suppose I'll tell you." She jumped up to a higher branch, hoping to locate her two targets through the mist, those other two forgotten. Seeing no one, she began speaking. "It is pretty simple. The strong are meant to rule the world and the weak should follow their orders or die. You two have potential, potential to become part of the few rightful rulers of this miserable world."

Within the mist, Naruto clenched his fist, understanding what she was saying. Anko ended up speaking his thoughts though. "You're saying that the weak are only here..."

"To justify the strong." Nureta finished. "It is only natural. Nature follows a very definitive rule, one unbreakable and unavoidable. This rule is that each species must eventually die, but a few will be born different, stronger, smarter, more able to thrive where others only survived. It is a game of survival of the fittest."

"That's idiotic!" Anko berated from a different position this time. "The strong should help those weaker, that way there are more pillars to support the group." Nureta scowled and punched the air, causing her watery minion to rip up several trees when its fist slammed into the ground.

"You know nothing. Some individuals are simply unable to become strong, always weak. What about you, boy? What's your answer to my gracious offer?" Naruto made no sound, instead channeling youkai through his system to enter the Zero-Tails Mode, his eyes becoming crimson with slitted pupils. His whiskers became more pronounced while his canines and nails grew.

He felt the demonic chakra coursing his system as he placed his palms together and slowly separated them, creating a double-headed naginata of reddish chakra wood and serrated obsidian, an aura of youkai surrounding it while he gripped it. "I will not abandon my family, Nureta-san." He spoke before his body coated in a thin layer of water.

In a single instant, he was within distance to lunge at the woman,a strike she easily spun around before she opened her palm, materializing a whip with nine tails from her strange, purple water. Behind him, she swung with the full intention of striking him down had a steel wall not rose up in his defense, steaming from contact. She scowled and jumped back before using a replacement to dodge a salvo of flaming senbon.

"If you won't side with the strong, then you're with the weak." Nureta spoke as both Naruto and Anko glared at her from different angles. Her golem suddenly became a vortex before swirling back into her drum. "It's time I got serious."

**[Boshihari vs Kakuzu]**

"Not a threat?" Kakuzu demanded with a glare. "I'll show you not a threat!" The lightning mask suddenly sped for him, wrapping its body around his back and resting just above his head as his body sprouted black threads and his mask fell off, showing more threads from his mouth.

Now, Boshihari - as a monk for decades of her long life - prided herself on her composure and ability to take mostly anything in stride. Even she had to look upon this being and admit she was disgusted. She was glad her otou-sama never had to fight him when he held the Earth Grudge Fear, because she wasnsure even she would never clear her mind of the monster he was at present.

Clearing that thought, Boshihari loosened her body as she knew what was surely to happen. Those threads were not for show and if chakra strands were deadly enough, solid ones made of... whatever these were made of would be much, much worse. From the branch sprouted a solid staff which she pulled out and spun, pointing it at Kakuzu even as the black blade grew from it and kanji spread from the tip of the blade to the base of the staff.

"You do not scare me, Kakuzu. I stopped fearing monsters the moment I entered war and became one myself. A simple bounty hunter like you is nothing to me, who has killed more than a hundred of your kind. So, I encourage you. Bring it on!" As she spoke, the single eye Boshihari held rippled before becoming blazing orange with a slit pupil. She held her naginata tightly as a red shroud enveloped the blade before she dug her feet into the wood and taking off hard enough to snap it like a twig.

_Jinchuuriki are special, Naruto-chan. They are more than simply a prison, they are two beings sharing one body. The outer is human and the inner is a demon, but when working in conjunction they become stronger than either one. If one learns to control the youkai, they can both utilize the bijuu's unique abilities and enhance their own body and techniques._

A memory surfaced as she traveled through the air, naginata held behind her. Her lecture on the jinchuuriki modes to Naruto.

_For now, all you need to know about is the Reibi - Zero Tails - mode. The only outward change is the human's eyes changing to the same as the bijuu's. It is useful because most willsimply think that you simply have a minor doujutsu. In reality, it does something no doujutsu could equal. Every physical and mental process doubles in strength and speed with this mode's mastery. Not only that, but each jutsu of the five branches - taijutsu, genjutsu, ninjutsu, bukijutsu and fuinjutsu - become augmented with youkai._

_The problem is that Reibi mode requires control. Not chakra control, emotional control. If you lose that control, you will do one of two things. A pseudo-jinchuuriki like myself is forced out of the mode. A jinchuuriki like you may very well be forced into the Ichibi mode and then the Kyuubi could take control. For that reason, even once you master it, it must be a last resort, only when against an opponent yoh cannot otherwise defeat._

Boshihari grinned to herself as time picked back up and swung her blade to tear through black strands that tried to grab her. Stepping on to a branch, she immediately took off in the air again, outmaneuvering more strings as it snapped off. The trunk of a tree was her next jumping target, leaving a crater in the tree before black strings slammed into it a moment later and made the top half fall over.

"Stay still, you imbecile!" Kakuzu demanded angrily as he shot off three, thick tentacles of black string interwovenn together to intersect her path as she was mid-air. Boshihari's lone eye glared at the strands before she held out her naginata and spun rapidly.

**"Ninja Art: Passing Fang!" **She shouted as she became a crimson tornado of cutting glass which easily tore through those tentacles before landing on another tree trunk. Her orange orb met Kakuzu's red and green ones as her lips kept that confident smirk up while his lips kept that scowl, or what Boshihari thought was a scowl since with the sewing marks on either side of them and with the massive tentacles hanging out of his mouth made it hard to tell exactly.

That smirk fell as the mask above his head opened its mouth. Several dozen spears of lightning shot at her before a beam of energy followed suit.

Boshihari saw them coming and wove through three handseals before slamming both palms to the bark of the tree. **"Glass Style: Obsidian Shielding Wall!" **She shouted, changing the wood into black glass before it rose up and formed a thick wall that rose up and curved back, only leaving the back bare. She waited for the lightning to hit, a continuous stream of chakra reinforcing her jutsu as well as multiple barrier seals over the whole thing.

As the lightning-natured finally hit the wall, Kakuzu smirked to himself. There was enough chakra in that move to send an ANBU into chakra exhaustion. There was no way that a simple C-rank wall could possibly block it and keep her uninjured. As the lightning struck, a large sonicboom could be heard, music to his ears. He waited several moments until the smoke of the explosion settled down before his eyes widened to their fullest. Boshihari's wall was glowing yellow now instead of shining a glossy black. The redhead herself stood and looked at him, smirking again.

She placed her hand on the wall and looked right in Kakuzu's eyes. **"Lightning Sealing Method: Release." **Before he could even react, a large beam of yellow chakra shot and tore into him, burning his flesh like only lightning can. His mouth was open in a silent scream as even his strands were burning, encapsuling his body in a large fireball.

"No one is going to take me from my family." Boshihari coldly said before disappearing to find her students.

**Original Jutsu**

**Wood Release: Beaver's Dam - The user forms a wall of twigs and earth that water cannot pass through. C-rank. Creator: Uzumaki Boshihari. Users: Uzumaki Boshihari, Uzumaki Naruto.**

**Wave Style: Toxic Tsunami - The user creates a twenty foot wave of poisoned water. A-rank. Creator: Nureta. Users: Nureta.**

**Uzumaki Sealing Art: Barrier-Storage Dual Art: Parallel Absorption - The user cross-layers a barrier and storage seal to create a mirror which reflects their storage dimension. Anything that hits the mirror is absorbed by the seal into the pocket dimension. Level Six Barrier. Level Eight Barrier. Creator: Uzumaki Clan. Users: Uzumaki Naruto.**

**Secret Technique: Guardian of the Tides - The user creates a golem of water fifty feet tall with a trident in their right hand. The golem's movement is connected to the user's. S-rank. Creator: Unknown. Users: Nureta.**

**Boil Style: Skilled Fog Missiles Jutsu - The user spits dozens of bullets made of corrosive mist at a target, melting it completely. B-rank. Creator: Unknown. Users: Uzumaki Boshihari.**

**Glass Style: Obsidian Shielding Wall - The user creates a curved wall resembling a dome with the back piece missing out of obsidian. C-rank. Creator: Uzumaki Boshihari. Users: Uzumaki Boshihari.**


End file.
